Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Tending to adhere; sticky.
  • adjective Gummed so as to adhere.
  • adjective Tending to persist; difficult if not impossible to shake off.
  • noun A substance, such as paste or cement, that provides or promotes adhesion.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
  • Figuratively, cleaving or clinging; adhering; remaining attached; not deviating from.
  • Gummed; fitted for adhesion: as, adhesive envelops.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
  • adjective Apt or tending to adhere; clinging.
  • adjective (Physics) See Attraction
  • adjective (Surg.) that kind of inflammation which terminates in the reunion of divided parts without suppuration.
  • adjective a sticking; a plaster containing resin, wax, litharge, and olive oil.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances.
  • adjective Apt or tending to adhere; clinging.
  • noun A substance, such as glue, that provides or promotes adhesion.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a substance that unites or bonds surfaces together
  • adjective tending to adhere

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French adhésif, from Latin as if *adhaesivus, from adhasus, past participle of adhaerere; see adhere.

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Examples

Comments

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  • I think I hate this word because I knew a person who constantly mispronounced this as "Adeesive".

    Alas.

    August 26, 2008