Word: adhere (verb)

Associations

"Adhere" means to stick firmly to something or to follow a rule or belief closely.

• Physical sticking: "The label will adhere to the package." Here, it means the label sticks well.
• Following rules: "We must adhere to the safety guidelines." This means to follow the rules strictly.
• Loyalty: "She adheres to her principles." This means she strongly supports or follows her beliefs.

Synonym: "stick" is often used like "adhere" for physical sticking. The difference is "adhere" sounds more formal and can be used for abstract ideas (rules, beliefs), while "stick" is more common in everyday speech and mostly physical.

Substitution

Depending on context, you can replace "adhere" with:

• stick (for physical things)
• follow, obey, comply (for rules or beliefs)
• cling (for physical sticking but more emotional or urgent) Each word changes tone: "adhere" is formal and serious, "stick" is casual, "comply" is official.

Deconstruction

"Adhere" comes from Latin "adhaerēre":

• "ad-" means "to" or "toward"
• "haerēre" means "to stick" So, "adhere" literally means "to stick to."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a rule or habit you adhere to every day?
• How is "adhere" different from just "stick" when talking about ideas?
• Have you ever used glue that didn’t adhere well? What happened?