Big Idea 2, #1, 10. Adhesion and Cohesion of Water. Adhesion of water is the property of water sticking to other objects due to attraction between unlike molecules. Cohesion is water's ability to stick to itself. You can see adhesion where the water sticks to my lip balm, a foreign object. You can see cohesion, where the water sticks to itself to form water drops in the sink.