Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Tending to adhere; sticky.
- adj. Gummed so as to adhere.
- adj. Tending to persist; difficult if not impossible to shake off: "He feels an adhesive dread, a sudden acquaintance with the . . . darker side of mankind” ( George F. Will).
- n. A substance, such as paste or cement, that provides or promotes adhesion.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
- Figuratively, cleaving or clinging; adhering; remaining attached; not deviating from.
- Gummed; fitted for adhesion: as, adhesive envelops.
Wiktionary
- adj. Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
- adj. Apt or tending to adhere; clinging.
- n. A substance, such as glue, that provides or promotes adhesion.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
- adj. Apt or tending to adhere; clinging.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a substance that unites or bonds surfaces together
- adj. tending to adhere
Etymologies
- From French adhésif, from Latin as if *adhaesivus, from adhasus, past participle of adhaerere; see adhere. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Painting before the adhesive is applied will keep the color on much longer.”
“As for the tape, the older the adhesive is the harder it is to remove.”
“For the past two months, the next part of our evening routine consisted of Tadpole lying on the sofa while I rasped away at the sole of her right foot with an emery board, applied an acid preparation and covered my handiwork in adhesive dressings.”
“The adhesive is known as Amiri gum; it is an Iranian glue that seals the skin together in such a way that it can only be removed through surgery.”
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“An adhesive is any strong relationship or circumstance that holds people together.”
“The adhesive is a bit more removable than standard stickiness, so you can take them off once you've trained your fingers.”
“The adhesive is so strong that a single seta can lift the weight of an ant 200 µN = 20 mg.”
“If the adhesive is so strong, how do they get their feet off? ...”
“It is also used in adhesive pads stuck to the feet to prevent blisters.”
“With the bolt or nut in place, simply put a strip of the adhesive from the head of the bolt or nut to the plastic or metal that it attaches to and let it dry.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘adhesive’.
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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TECH - department store terms
lift, flask, datum, cater, absorbable, access road, account book, acoustic, adding machine, adhesive, advisory service, aeration and 231 more...
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Words For Novel (Part 2)
fable, sprite, syphilitic, anvil, wonderstruck, vertigo, bridled, tufted, fettered, savvy, tweed fedora, tryst and 255 more...
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Seccotine
Glue; sticky substances; stickiness.
seccotine, propolis, bee glue, slumgum, fish glue, isinglass, bone-glue, glaim, gluing-press, self-adhesive, cheese-cement, gluish and 22 more...
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Sophaloaf's list
Favorites!
belle, starfish, photography, buddha, dinosaur, floccinaucinihili..., hypoallergenic, sailor, gorgeous, adhesive, imagination, artichokes and 55 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, A
abaculus, abacus, abaft, abarticular, abbreviate, abeyance, abiding, anthocyanin, antemeridian, arcane, adjure, adduce and 418 more...
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wanderstar's Words
superlative, mulish, mumps, catatonic, aquiline, clandestine, phantasmagoria, chryselephantine, microfiche, mutineer, reprobate, ruthless and 312 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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1stDay
lucid, tenacious, adhesive, cling, reconcile, scenic, picturesque, inundate, gastrointestinal, diarrhea, heredity, alimentary canal and 89 more...
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GRE
Taisha GRE Bible
archaic, archetype, archipelago, architect, archive, arctic, ardor, arduous, argot, arid, armory, arrest and 289 more...
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list1
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, ablution and 106 more...
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dover's Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for adhesive.
seaghost I think I hate this word because I knew a person who constantly mispronounced this as "Adeesive".
Alas. Aug 26, 2008