Explain why is OH group in phenols more strongly held as compared to OH group in alcohols ?

Explanation

In phenols, the electron pairs on oxygen atom of -OH group are in conjugation (or resonance) with `pi` electrons of the ring the and the following resonating structures are possible

Out of these five resonating structures, II, III and IV structures contain a carbon-oxygen double bond character. In other words, carbon-oxygen bond in phenol acquires a partial double bond character due to resonance.
But in alcohols carbon-oxygen bond in alcohols is purely single bond. Therefore, -OH group in phenols is more strongly held as compared to -OH group in alcohols.