rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryagglutinateClumping together
verb / adjective

agglutinate

uh-GLOO-tuh-nayt/ʌɡlˈutɪnˌeɪt/

To join separate elements together into a larger unit.

The oat flakes agglutinate into a sticky clump as honey binds them together.

A spoon lifts a sticky clump of oat flakes from a shallow bowl: glossy honey bridges visibly bind the flakes together, contrasting with loose flakes below.
Etymology
agLatinto, toward
+glutinateLatinto glue

The pieces evoke gluing one thing to another. The original sense of fastening with glue extends to things adhering or forming clumps, whether or not actual glue is involved.

More examples

  • The test caused red blood cells to agglutinate.
  • Some languages agglutinate several meaningful elements into one word.
  • The linguist compares agglutinate forms built from several distinct elements.

Forms

agglutinate · agglutinates · agglutinated · agglutinating

agglutination noun — The joining of elements into larger units.

Similar words

clump
Usually describes visible masses without the specialized linguistic application.
combine
Is broader and does not emphasize joining distinguishable components.