ad·he·sive  ( ăd-h ēs ĭv, -z ĭv)
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adj.1. Tending to adhere; sticky. 2. Gummed so as to adhere. 3. 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.
ad·hesive·ly adv. ad·hesive·ness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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