Definition of "adhesive" []

• Tending to adhere; sticky. (adjective)
• Gummed so as to adhere. (adjective)
• 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). (adjective)
• A substance, such as paste or cement, that provides or promotes adhesion. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Painting before the adhesive is applied will keep the color on much longer."
• "As for the tape, the older the adhesive is the harder it is to remove."
• "An adhesive is any strong relationship or circumstance that holds people together."