Cohesive

Cohesive is an adjective derived from cohesion, describing something that forms a unified whole or exhibits cohesion. In everyday language it often means well-integrated, coherent, or sticking together. The related noun cohesiveness describes the degree of unity within a group or system, while the verb to cohere means to become united or to be consistent.

In physical sciences, cohesion refers to the intermolecular forces that hold a substance's molecules together. These cohesive forces give materials their structural integrity and influence properties such as surface tension, viscosity, and hardness. In solids, cohesive strength or cohesive energy quantifies the energy required to separate atoms from a bulk material; fracture-mechanics models, such as the cohesive zone model, describe how cracks propagate along material interfaces.

In linguistics and textual analysis, cohesion describes the links that connect different parts of a text to form a coherent whole. Cohesion is achieved through devices such as pronouns, conjunctions, lexical repetition, and related terms that maintain reference, substitution, and explicit or implicit connections between sentences and ideas.

In social and organizational contexts, cohesion refers to the degree to which members of a group, team, or community stick together and work toward shared goals. Factors influencing cohesion include clear goals, effective communication, trust, leadership, and shared identity or values.