adherence Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun faithful support for a cause or political party or religion
    adhesion; attachment.
    • attachment to a formal agenda
    • adherence to a fat-free diet
    • the adhesion of Seville was decisive
  2. noun the property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or the joining of surfaces of different composition
    adhesiveness; adhesion; bond.
    • the mutual adhesiveness of cells
    • a heated hydraulic press was required for adhesion

WordNet

Ad*her"ence noun
Etymology
Cf. F. adhérence, LL. adhaerentia.
Definitions
  1. The quality or state of adhering.
  2. The state of being fixed in attachment; fidelity; steady attachment; adhesion; as, adherence to a party or to opinions. Syn. -- Adherence, Adhesion. These words, which were once freely interchanged, are now almost entirely separated. Adherence is no longer used to denote physical union, but is applied, to mental states or habits; as, a strict adherence to one's duty; close adherence to the argument, etc. Adhesion is now confined chiefly to the physical sense, except in the phrase "To give in one's adhesion to a cause or a party."

Webster 1913