From Middle English *adheren (suggested by Middle English adherande), from Latin adhaereō, adhaesum: ad ("to") + haerēre ("to stick").

• (British, Australia) IPA: /ædˈhɪə/
• (America, Canada) IPA: /ædˈhɪɹ/

adhere (adheres, present participle adhering; simple past and past participle adhered)

1. (intransitive) To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does; to become joined or united.

   Synonyms: cleave, cling, stick, Thesaurus:adhere

   Wax adhered to his finger.

   • 1905, Anna Botsford Comstock, chapter 16, in How to Keep Bees:

     The sure test of the presence of the disease is found in the dead body of the larva, which is dark and discoloured; and if a toothpick or pin be thrust into it and then drawn back, the body contents will adhere to it in a stringy mass, to the extent of a half or even an entire inch, as if it were mucous or glue; later the bodies of the larvae dry and appear as black scales in the cell bottoms.

   • December 23 2016, Victoria Neff in Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald, The story of mistletoe ↗

     Mistletoe is an evergreen perennial shrub that has female plants that produce white berries. These white berries are a favorite food of birds who help to reseed the sticky seeds that adhere to tree branches.

2. (intransitive, figurative) To be attached or devoted by personal union, in belief, on principle, etc.
   • 1829, Washington Irving, chapter 20, in Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada:

     King Ferdinand adopted the magnanimous measure recommended by the queen, but he accompanied it with several shrewd conditions, exacting tribute, military services, and safe passages and maintenance for Christian troops throughout the places which should adhere to Boabdil.

   • 1913, William Stanley Braithwaite, A Foremost American Lyrist: An Appreciation:

     She has conceived the high function of poetry as an interpretation and criticism of life, adhering to the canons of her beloved master, Matthew Arnold, and has proven her worth, and the right to receive and exercise the spiritual influence inherited from that great and austere poet.

   • December 13 2016, Secret aid worker, Secret aid worker: NGOs can be efficient, if it involves sacrificing staff ↗

     But from then on, everything went full speed. A tight timeline was adhered to and it became clear that the organisation’s new direction saw no value in keeping or developing the talents it had previously hired.

3. (intransitive, figurative) To be consistent or coherent; to be in accordance; to agree.
4. (intransitive, Scots law) To affirm a judgment.

• adherent
• adherence
• adhesive
• cohere
• deadhere
• inhere

• French: adhérer
• German: kleben
• Italian: aderire
• Portuguese: aderir
• Russian: прикле́иваться
• Spanish: pegarse, adherirse

• German: halten
• Italian: aderire
• Russian: приде́рживаться

• French: adhérer
• German: halten, befolgen, festhalten
• Italian: seguire
• Russian: приде́рживаться
• Spanish: adherir, cumplir