adhesive

/ædˈhisɪv/

/ædˈhisɪv/

Other forms: adhesives; adhesively

An adhesive is something sticky that holds things together. Use an adhesive to repair a cracked plate.

Adhesive comes from the Latin adhaerere, meaning "stick to," which is precisely what something adhesive does — it sticks to things. An adhesive bonds surfaces together. It's the sticky side on a roll of duct tape that causes it to be so effective. The word can be used to describe both the substance itself: to use an adhesive, for example — or its property of stickiness: an adhesive bandage sticks to the skin.

Definitions of adhesive

1. adjective

   tending to adhere
   synonyms:

   adherent

   sticking fast

   agglutinate, agglutinative

   united as if by glue

   bondable

   capable of holding together or cohering; as particles in a mass

   coherent, tenacious

   sticking together

   cohesive

   causing cohesion

   clingy, gluey, glutinous, gummy, mucilaginous, pasty, sticky, viscid, viscous

   having the sticky properties of an adhesive

   gooey, icky

   soft and sticky

   gum-like

   resembling chewing gum

   gummed, gummy

   covered with adhesive gum

   pitchy, resinous, resiny, tarry

   having the characteristics of pitch or tar

   self-sealing

   seals without the application of moisture

   stick-on

   of something (a paper label or postage stamp) gummed in advance

   sticky

   covered with an adhesive material

   antonyms:

   nonadhesive

   not tending to adhere

   nonglutinous, nonviscid

   not resembling glue in texture

   non-resinous, non-resiny, nonresinous, nonresiny

   not having resin

   ungummed

   not treated with adhesive gum
2. noun

   a substance that unites or bonds surfaces together
   synonyms: adhesive agent, adhesive material

   types:

   birdlime, lime

   a sticky adhesive that is smeared on small branches to capture small birds

   spirit gum

   an adhesive solution made of gum and ether and used to attach false hair to skin

   binder

   something used to bind separate particles together or facilitate adhesion to a surface

   cement

   something that hardens to act as adhesive material

   library paste, paste

   an adhesive made from water and flour or starch; used on paper and paperboard

   rubber cement

   an adhesive made by dissolving unvulcanized rubber in a solvent like benzene or naphtha

   glue, gum, mucilage

   cement consisting of a sticky substance that is used as an adhesive

   putty

   a dough-like mixture of whiting and boiled linseed oil; used especially to patch woodwork or secure panes of glass

   iron putty

   a cement resembling putty; made by mixing ferric oxide and boiled linseed oil; is acid resistant

   red-lead putty

   a cement resembling putty; made by mixing white and red lead in boiled linseed oil; used as luting on pipe fittings

   mastic

   a pasty cement used as an adhesive or filler

   wafer

   a small adhesive disk of paste; used to seal letters

   type of:

   material, stuff

   the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object