If a small diameter tube of glass is inserted into water, the water will 'climb' the tube by capillary action. Some small molecules are also hydrophilic, or 'water-loving' and are able to become involved in hydrogen bonds. These small molecules dissolve in water. Glucose is a good example. The many hydroxyl groups of the glucose molecule all serve as hydrogen bonding sites.
Many substances dissolve in water.
Some substances also dissociate in water. Salt crystals are only weakly associated by ionic bonds. The salt ions are more strongly attracted to water than to each other. Spheres of hydration form as water molecules orient around charged particles released from the salt crystals. This prevents the easy recruitment of these water molecules into a crystal lattice of ice.