Hypertext Webster Gateway: "adherence"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Adherence \Ad*her"ence\, n. [Cf. F. adh['e]rence, LL.
adhaerentia.]
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}.
Usage: 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.''
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
adherence
n 1: faithful support for a religion or cause or political party
[syn: {attachment}]
2: the property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or
the joining of surfaces of different composition [syn: {adhesiveness},
{adhesion}, {bond}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.