adherence

(ăd-hîr'əns, -hĕr'-)
n.

1. The process or condition of adhering.
2. Faithful attachment; devotion: "Adherence to the rule of law . . . is a very important principle" (William H. Webster).

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Both words were adopted from French in the 17th century, and come from the Latin verb which also gives us our verb adhere. Adherence is now mostly used in figurative senses relating to beliefs, loyalties, laws and regulations, etc., whereas adhesion has tended more and more to imply physical contact between surfaces, e.g. the grip of wheels on road or rail, the sticking or gluing together of two surfaces, etc. Contrary uses are also found, especially of adhesion in figurative meanings, but these no longer sound natural

(Others...fell under his control through the adhesion to France of their ruler, the Prince-Bishop of Liège—Winston Churchill, 1957

his blind adhesion to the failed ideology of socialism—weblog, New Zealand English 2005 [Old English (up to 1150)C]).

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noun

The close physical union of two objects: adhesion, bond, cohesion. See connect.

IN BRIEF: n. - Faithful support for a religion or cause or political party; The property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or the joining of surfaces of different composition.

Tutor's tip: Glue has great "adherence" (act of sticking), and most people are "adherents" (those who stick with an idea) of that statement.

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See words rhyming with "adherence."