adhere

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ædˈhɪɹ/ UK /ædˈhɪə/ See IPA manual

Freq #24052

Meanings

1

verb
To stick firmly to a surface.

Will this wallpaper adhere to the wall properly?
2

verb
To follow a rule, plan, or belief closely.

All drivers must adhere to the speed limit.
3

verb
To stay loyal to a cause, party, or faith.

The villagers adhered to Catholicism for centuries.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with adhere

adhere to Prepositional verb C2

to follow a rule, principle, or agreed requirement

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to stick firmly to a surface. stick cling

3 verb · to stay loyal to a cause,... stick

More attach bond cleave cohere conglutinate glue hug

Opposites

deadheredivide

Word family

Forms adheredadheresadhering

Derived forms adherableadhereradheringlycytoadheredisadherenonadheringreadhereunadhereunadhered

Related forms adherence adherent adhesive coheredeadhereinhere

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

adhere to
to follow a rule, principle, or agreed requirement

Verb + preposition/particle

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin haereō Latin adhaereōder. Middle English *adheren English adhere From Middle English *adheren (suggested by Middle English adherande (“adhering, adherent”, present participle)), from Latin adhaerēre, adhaesum: ad (“to”) + haerēre (“to stick”). Compare French adhérer.

*adheren Middle English adhaereō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# adhere

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ædˈhɪɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ædˈhɪə/
**Frequency rank:** 24052

## Meanings
1. To stick firmly to a surface.
2. To follow a rule, plan, or belief closely.
3. To stay loyal to a cause, party, or faith.

## Examples
- Will this wallpaper adhere to the wall properly?
- All drivers must adhere to the speed limit.
- The villagers adhered to Catholicism for centuries.

## Synonyms
- attach
- bond
- cleave
- cling
- cohere
- conglutinate
- glue
- hug
- stick

## Antonyms
- deadhere
- divide

## Derived Forms
- adherable
- adherer
- adheringly
- cytoadhere
- disadhere
- nonadhering
- readhere
- unadhere
- unadhered

## Related Forms
- adherence
- adherent
- adhesive
- cohere
- deadhere
- inhere

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *adheren
- Root: adhaereō
- Affix: ad- - to

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Latin haereō Latin adhaereōder. Middle English *adheren English adhere From Middle English *adheren (suggested by Middle English adherande (“adhering, adherent”, present participle)), from Latin adhaerēre, adhaesum: ad (“to”) + haerēre (“to stick”). Compare French adhérer.

## AI Etymology
Adhere is from Middle English *adheren (suggested by Middle English adherande (“adhering, adherent”, present participle)), from Latin adhaerēre, adhaesum: ad (“to”) + haerēre (“to stick”). Compare French adhérer. The historical chain records Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd, Proto-Italic *ad, Proto-Italic *ad-, Latin ad-, Latin haereō, Latin adhaereō, Middle, English *adheren, and English adhere. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern verbal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *adheren (Middle English) and adhaereō (Latin). Current senses include to stick firmly to a surface, to follow a rule, plan, or belief closely, and to stay loyal to a cause, party, or faith. The wider family includes derived forms such as adherable, adherer, adheringly, cytoadhere, and disadhere and related words such as adherence, adherent, adhesive, cohere, and deadhere.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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