incoherence
Americannoun
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the quality or state of being incoherent.
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something incoherent; an incoherent statement, article, speech, etc.
Etymology
Origin of incoherence
Explanation
Incoherence is a quality of being unclear, disjointed, or nonsensical. The incoherence of the scavenger hunt's instructions resulted in everyone running in different directions looking hopelessly confused. A political candidate's incoherence usually hurts their chances of winning an election, since no one really understands what they stand for. And if your English teacher comments on the incoherence of your latest essay, you might want to get some extra writing help. When ideas, words, or thoughts don't hold together quite right, that's incoherence. The Latin root is cohaerere, "stick together."
Vocabulary lists containing incoherence
Additional Shakespeare Articles
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here, hes (stick; adhere)
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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.
What remains has now been restored and assembled by Milestone Films in a version whose narrative incoherence is balanced by its outrageousness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The slippery incoherence is a feature, not a bug.
From Slate • Oct. 16, 2024
His speech ping-ponged between self-pity and incoherence, delivered in that odd sing-song quiet voice he uses when his aides tell him to act "serious."
From Salon • Aug. 21, 2024
But Besson soon finds his way to tonal incoherence: a mishmash of somber character exploration and flagrant clichés.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2024
He sensed the growing incoherence in the children.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
