cogent
Americanadjective
-
convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling.
-
to the point; relevant; pertinent.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cogent
1650–60; < Latin cōgent- (stem of cōgēns, present participle of cōgere to drive together, collect, compel), equivalent to cōg- ( co- co- + ag-, stem of agere to drive) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
When you make a cogent argument, it means your argument is clear and persuasive. In these days of 24-hour entertainment news and sound-bite sized explanations of complex government policy, it’s hard to find a cogent argument amidst all the emotional outbursts. Cogent comes from a Latin word meaning "to drive together," so cogent thinking is well-organized: it hangs together. If you try to convince your mayor to build a new park by saying that playgrounds are good, seeing the sky is nice, and raccoons are cool…well that’s not a cogent argument; it’s just random. But you could cogently argue that parks contribute to civic happiness by providing space for exercise, community, and encounters with nature.
Vocabulary lists containing cogent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Mr. Robinson’s cogent point is that a nightmare can take many forms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
One of the most cogent explanations of why that is came from comedian George Carlin, who, were he still with us, would pace the stage and say something quite like this:
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
Mr. Bayliss gives a cogent account of the Peloponnesian War, a 27-year slugfest that finally resulted in Sparta’s domination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
If Allen possesses a cogent political philosophy, it appears to be that of by-the-book mainstream liberalism.
From Slate ● May 1, 2026
Studies have been done, in fact, in which experts in a given field have analyzed such random phenomena and come up with cogent “explanations” for the patterns.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
