cohere

American  

[koh-heer] / koʊˈhɪər /

verb (used without object)

coheres, present (3rd person singular) cohered, past participle, past cohering present participle

1. to stick together; be united; hold fast, as parts of the same mass.

   The particles of wet flour cohered to form a paste.

2. Physics. (of two or more similar substances) to be united within a body by the action of molecular forces.

3. to be naturally or logically connected.

   Without sound reasoning no argument will cohere.

   Synonyms:

   follow

4. to agree; be congruous.

   Her account of the incident cohered with his.

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cohere British  

/ kəʊˈhɪə /

verb

1. to hold or stick firmly together

2. to be connected logically; be consistent

3. physics to be held together by the action of molecular forces

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Synonym Usage

See stick ².

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have cohered
  perfect
• has cohered
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been cohering
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am cohering
  progressive 1st person singular
• is cohering
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are cohering
  progressive
• have been cohering
  perfect progressive
• coheres
  singular 3rd person
• cohering
  participle

Past

• had cohered
  perfect
• had been cohering
  perfect progressive
• was cohering
  progressive singular
• were cohering
  progressive plural
• cohered
  participle
• cohered
  simple

Future

• will cohere
  simple
• will have cohered
  perfect
• will have been cohering
  perfect progressive
• will be cohering
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of cohere

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin cohaerēre, equivalent to co- co- + haerēre “to stick, cling”

Explanation

When things cohere, they come together in a meaningful way. It wasn't until we won a game that our team finally cohered, and we actually felt like a unit. Co- means "together," and here is from the Latin haerēre, "to stick." Put them together and you have "to stick together." When people work together on a project, it's important that their ideas cohere, otherwise the work can seem disjointed and awkward. The beauty of the dance was in the timing: everyone was so in step that they seemed to cohere into one great mass of humanity. If the president's staff doesn't cohere into a cohesive unit, his policies will never come together either.