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Synonyms

cohere

American  
[koh-heer] / koʊˈhɪər /

verb (used without object)

cohered, cohering
  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.


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See stick 2.

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing cohere

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.

Canadian artificial-intelligence startup Cohere is joining forces with Germany’s Aleph Alpha, a combination that the smaller enterprise-AI developers hope will allow them to ramp up alternatives to Silicon Valley offerings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

The other companies involved in the pilot program are Cohere Health, Genzeon, Virtix Health and Zyter TruCare.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 30, 2025

A desire to keep talent on the continent is certainly at play, said Joelle Pineau, AI director at Cohere, a Canadian company specialising in AI for businesses.

From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025

Cohere is said to be in talks to raise up to $1 billion in funding that would value the Canadian artificial intelligence start-up at more than $2.2 billion.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2024

Cohere, kō-hēr′, v.i. to stick together: to follow in proper connection: to be consistent.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various