Cohesion

noun (uncountable)

/kəʊˈhiː.ʒən/

The quality or state of forming a unified, well-integrated whole, in which the constituent parts stick or hold firmly together. In writing, it denotes the logical and structural connectedness that makes ideas flow seamlessly from one to the next.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

A federal polity endures not through the coercive centralisation of power but through the social and political cohesion that binds diverse linguistic and religious communities into a shared constitutional fellowship.

Synonyms

unitysolidarityintegrationtogethernesscoherencebonding

Antonyms

fragmentationdisunitydivisiondisintegration

🌱 Word Family

cohesion (n), cohesive (adj), cohesively (adv), cohesiveness (n), cohere (v), coherent (adj)

🔡 Root

Latin co- = together + haerere = to stick → cohaerere = to cleave together; partly via French cohésion

📜 Etymology

Late 17th century, from Latin cohaes- 'cleaved together' (verb cohaerere, from co- 'together' + haerere 'to stick'), partly via French cohésion, on the pattern of adhesion.

🧠 Memory Hook

Co- (together) + adHESION (sticking) = sticking together; think of "co-adhesion" forces that make a group cohere as one.

👥 Society 📖 Seen in: Indian Society — Diversity, Demographi...

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