cohesive
/koʊˈhi.sɪv/adjective, noun
cohesive is spelled C-O-H-E-S-I-V-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cohesive means “Having cohesion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cohesive?
| Letters | 8: C-O-H-E-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cohesive?
Cohesive appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cohesive?
- UK /kəʊˈhiː.sɪv/
- US /koʊˈhi.sɪv/
- Australia /kəʉˈhiː.sɪv/
Cohesive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cohesive.wav, En-us-cohesive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cohesive?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cohesive from its last stressed vowel (/isɪv/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cohesive
- more cohesive comparative
- most cohesive superlative
- cohesives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cohesive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having cohesion.
a team welded into a cohesive unit
noun
- 1
A substance that provides cohesion
- 2
A device used to establish cohesion within a text
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cohesive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having cohesion:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | zusammenhängend |
| Portuguese | coeso |
| Spanish | cohesivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cohesive come from?
From Latin cohaesus, past participle of cohaereō, + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).