different between adhere vs agree

English

Alternative forms

• adhære (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English *adheren (suggested by Middle English adherande (“adhering, adherent”, present participle)), from Latin adhaer?re, adhaesum: ad (“to”) + haer?re (“to stick”). Compare French adhérer.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /æd?hi?/
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Verb

adhere (third-person singular simple present 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; see also Thesaurus:adhere

   • 1905, Anna Botsford Comstock, How to Keep Bees Chapter 16

     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, figuratively) To be attached or devoted by personal union, in belief, on principle, etc.
   • 1829, Washington Irving, Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada Chapter 20

     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, figuratively) To be consistent or coherent; to be in accordance; to agree.
   • 2017 September 27, David Browne, "Hugh Hefner, 'Playboy' Founder, Dead at 91," Rolling Stone

     For the most part, Hefner's female companions all adhered to the same mold: twentysomething, bosomy and blonde. "Well, I guess I know what I like," he once said when asked about his preferences.

4. (Scotland, law) To affirm a judgment.

Usage notes

• The verb is intransitive but often takes the preposition "to".

Related terms

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

Translations

Anagrams

• Hardee, header, heared, hedera, rehead

Latin

Verb

adh?r?

1. second-person singular present active imperative of adh?re?

English

Etymology

From Middle English agreen, from Old French agreer (“to accept or receive kindly”), from a gré (“favorably”), from Latin ad (“to”) + gratum (“pleasing”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?-gr?', IPA^(key): /????i?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /????i/
• Rhymes: -i?
• Hyphenation: a?gree

Verb

agree (third-person singular simple present agrees, present participle agreeing, simple past and past participle agreed)

1. (intransitive) To harmonize in opinion, statement, or action; to be in unison or concord; to be or become united or consistent; to concur.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, a sonnet in The Passionate Pilgrim

     If music and sweet poetry agree.

   • For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

   • The more you agree together, the less hurt can your enemies do you.

2. (intransitive) To yield assent; to accede;—followed by to.

3. (transitive, Britain, Ireland) To yield assent to; to approve.
   • 2011 April 3, John Burke, in The Sunday Business Post:

     Bishops agree sex abuse rules

4. (intransitive) To make a stipulation by way of settling differences or determining a price; to exchange promises; to come to terms or to a common resolve; to promise.

   • Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

   • But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?

5. (intransitive) To be conformable; to resemble; to coincide; to correspond.

6. (intransitive, now always with with) To suit or be adapted in its effects; to do well.

7. (intransitive, grammar) To correspond to (another word) in a grammatical category, such as gender, number, case, or person.

8. (intransitive, law) To consent to a contract or to an element of a contract.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
• This is a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs
• The transitive usage could be considered as just an omission of to or upon.
• US and Canadian English do not use the transitive form. Thus "they agreed on a price" or "they agreed to the conditions" are used in North America but not "they agreed a price" or "they agreed the conditions".

Synonyms

• (harmonize in opinion): concur, harmonize; See also Thesaurus:agree
• (yield assent): accede, come around, give way; See also Thesaurus:accede or Thesaurus:assent
• (yield assent to): approve, set
• (come to terms or to a common resolve): bargain, deal, engage; See also Thesaurus:bargain
• (be conformable): coincide, correspond, match, resemble
• (do well): fit, suit
• (grammar):
• (law):

Antonyms

• disagree

Derived terms

• disagree
• agreement

Related terms

• gree

Translations

Further reading

• agree in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• agree in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Eager, aeger, eager, eagre, geare, æger

Middle English

Verb

agree

1. Alternative form of agreen