/ kəʊˈhiːʒn; NAmE koʊ-/ noun [ U ]
1.
( formal ) the act or state of keeping together
SYN unity :
the cohesion of the nuclear family
social / political / economic cohesion
2.
( physics , chemistry ) the force causing molecules of the same substance to stick together
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent.: from Latin cohaes- cleaved together, from the verb cohaerere , from co- together + haerere to stick, on the pattern of adhesion .