coherence

Also co·her·en·cy

[koh-heer-uhns, -her-]

noun

1. the act or state of cohering; cohesion.

2. logical interconnection; overall sense or understandability.

3. congruity; consistency.

   Synonyms: rationality, agreement, harmony, correspondence

4. Physics, Optics.,  (of waves) the state of being coherent.

5. Linguistics.,  the property of unity in a written text or a segment of spoken discourse that stems from the links among its underlying ideas and from the logical organization and development of its thematic content.

coherence

/ kəʊˈhɪərənsɪ, kəʊˈhɪərəns /

noun

1. logical or natural connection or consistency

2. another word for cohesion

coherence

1. A property holding for two or more waves or fields when each individual wave or field is in phase with every other one. Lasers, for example, emit almost perfectly coherent light; all the photons emitted by a laser have the same frequency and are in phase. Since quantum states can be described by a wave equation, coherence can hold for quantum states in general, though only among bosons. Coherence is generally possible in physical systems that may undergo superposition. Maintaining coherence of light is important in fiber optic communications.

2. See also Bose-Einstein condensate

Other Word Forms

• noncoherence noun
• noncoherency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of coherence¹

First recorded in 1570–80; coher(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

Quantum batteries -- miniaturized theoretical devices that store energy using quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, and coherence rather than traditional chemical reactions -- could redefine how power is stored and transferred.

Read more on Science Daily

Mr. Berry is also drawn to continuity and coherence: His writing conjures the connectedness and simple moral clarity that the people of Port William imperfectly aspire to.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Its thirty-two recommendations cover clarity and coherence, meaningful independence, better compliance, and transparency and accountability.

Read more on BBC

That initiative collapsed in 1973—critics said it lacked independence and coherence.

Read more on Barron's

With Barghouti in jail, Abbas approaching 90 years of age, Hamas decimated and the West Bank in pieces, it's clear that Palestine lacks leadership and coherence.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• consistency 
• continuity 
• integrity 
• rationality 
• solidarity 
• unity