cohesion

/koʊˈhiːʒən/
unity or logical connection

The cohesion of the team was evident in their seamless collaboration during the project.

The team worked together smoothly because their ideas and efforts were well-connected.


formal

The act or state of sticking together tightly; unity.

The cohesion of the group was tested during the crisis.

How well the group stayed united under pressure.

Social cohesion is vital for community development.

The strength of relationships and bonds within a community.

technical

In linguistics, the grammatical and lexical relationships that make a text meaningful and unified.

Cohesion in writing ensures sentences flow logically.

Using pronouns, conjunctions, and repetition to connect ideas.

The essay lacked cohesion, making it hard to follow.

The ideas were not clearly connected, disrupting the flow.

Collocations

social cohesionthe strength of relationships and bonds within a communitytext cohesionthe logical connection of ideas in writingcohesive groupa group that works together effectively

Pro Tip

Avoid redundancy

Use 'cohesion' to describe unity or connection, not physical sticking (use 'adhesion' or 'stickiness' for that).

Gold Rule

Context matters

In linguistics, cohesion refers to text structure; in social contexts, it refers to group unity.

Word Origin

From Latin *cohaesio(n-)*, from *cohaerere* meaning 'to stick together', combining *co-* (together) and *haerere* (to stick). First recorded in English in the mid-17th century.

Usage Notes

Commonly used in social sciences, linguistics, and general contexts. Avoid confusing with 'cohesive' (adjective form) or 'cohesiveness' (the quality of being cohesive).

Word Breakdown

co-
together
prefix
+
-hesion
sticking
root
English Dictionary