1 adherent | Definition of adherent

adherent

noun

Definition of adherent

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: one who adheres to something: such as
a : a follower of a leader, party, or profession Freud's adherents
b : a believer in or advocate especially of a particular idea or church adherents of Christianity adherents of socialism

adherent

adjective
ad·​her·​ent | \ ad-ˈhir-ənt How to pronounce adherent (audio) , əd-\

Definition of adherent (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : able or tending to adhere an adherent material
2 : connected or associated with especially by contract nations adherent to the treaty
3 : adnate

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Other Words from adherent

Adjective

adherently adverb

Synonyms & Antonyms for adherent

Synonyms: Noun

acolyte, convert, disciple, epigone, follower, liege man, partisan (also partizan), pupil, votarist, votary

Synonyms: Adjective

adhesive, clingy, gluey, glutinous, gummy, sticky, tacky, tenacious, viscid

Antonyms: Noun

coryphaeus, leader

Antonyms: Adjective

nonadhesive

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Choose the Right Synonym for adherent

Noun

follower, adherent, disciple, partisan mean one who gives full loyalty and support to another. follower may apply to people who attach themselves either to the person or beliefs of another. an evangelist and his followers adherent suggests a close and persistent attachment. adherents to Marxism disciple implies a devoted allegiance to the teachings of one chosen as a master. disciples of Gandhi partisan suggests a zealous often prejudiced attachment. partisans of the President

Stick With Adherent

Just as tape adheres to paper, a person may adhere to a cause, a faith, or a belief. Thus, you may be an adherent of Hinduism, an adherent of environmentalism, or an adherent of the Republican Party. A plan for cutting taxes always attracts adherents easily, regardless of what the cuts may result in.

Examples of adherent in a Sentence

Noun

an adherent of free trade the Flat Earth Society surely doesn't have many adherents

Adjective

the bandage is made from a mildly adherent fiber
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Pak’s adherents include tenant activists in Chinatown who have the ear of politicians like Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, "Amid protests, SF board names Chinatown subway station after Rose Pak," 20 Aug. 2019 Human rights groups have reported some adherents being tortured and killed while in custody. NBC News, "Trump, Qanon and an impending judgment day: Behind the Facebook-fueled rise of The Epoch Times," 20 Aug. 2019 However, that might not be convincing enough for iOS adherents to jump over to Android. Cameron Faulkner, The Verge, "Samsung Galaxy Note 10 vs. Galaxy S10 vs. iPhone XS: comparing three small-ish flagship phones," 7 Aug. 2019 But until the start of that mediation—which is supposed to be completely private—both sides are engaging in public posturing to try to win over adherents. Grant Wahl, SI.com, "USWNT, U.S. Soccer Both Have Incentive to Settle Dispute Outside of Court," 30 July 2019 More than 2 million Muslims will visit the Saudi Arabian city in August to perform the Hajj pilgrimage—a journey every one of Islam’s 1.8 billion adherents must make during their lifetime, if financially and physically able. Daniel Bentley, Fortune, "Hajj Hackers Are Bringing Tech to the Mecca Pilgrimage," 27 July 2019 Gold-standard adherents often extol the strength of currencies such as the pound and the dollar in the early 20th century. Gwynn Guilford, Quartz, "The quiet campaign to reinstate the gold standard is getting louder," 3 July 2019 Castro, echoing criticisms that the Trump administration has a misplaced focus, proposes shifting emphasis to adherents of white supremacy and retooling programs aimed now at Muslims and other sectors. Bill Lambrecht, ExpressNews.com, "Julián Castro calls for federal gun license, better hate group monitoring," 9 Aug. 2019 QAnon, meanwhile, is complicated enough that its own adherents can sometimes barely follow all its ins and outs. Kate Cox, Ars Technica, "FBI says “extremists” motivated by Pizzagate, QAnon are threats," 1 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adherent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of adherent

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for adherent

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin adhaerent-, adhaerens, going back to Latin, present participle of adhaerēre "to adhere"

Adjective

Middle English aherdaunt, adherent, borrowed from Anglo-French aheirdant, going back to Latin adhaerent-, adhaerens, present participle of adhaerēre "to adhere"

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More Definitions for adherent

adherent

noun

English Language Learners Definition of adherent

: a person who is loyal to a leader, group, or religion : a person who adheres to or supports a system or set of principles

adherent

noun
ad·​her·​ent | \ ad-ˈhir-ənt How to pronounce adherent (audio) \

Kids Definition of adherent