incoherent
Americanadjective
-
without logical or meaningful connection; disjointed; rambling.
an incoherent sentence.
- Synonyms:
- muddled, irrational, confused
-
characterized by such thought or language, as a person.
incoherent with rage.
-
not coherent or cohering.
an incoherent mixture.
-
lacking physical cohesion; loose.
incoherent dust.
-
lacking unity or harmony of elements.
an incoherent public.
-
lacking congruity of parts; uncoordinated.
-
different or incompatible by nature, as things.
-
Physics. (of a wave) having a low degree of coherence.
adjective
-
lacking in clarity or organization; disordered
-
unable to express oneself clearly; inarticulate
-
physics (of two or more waves) having the same frequency but not the same phase
incoherent light
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incoherent
Explanation
Incoherent thoughts don't follow each other logically. Incoherent speech is mumbled or jumbled. Incoherent means that something is difficult to understand because it's not holding together. A lot of people use incoherent to mean unintelligible, which is a perfectly fine usage. But it specifically means unintelligible due to a lack of cohesion, or sticking together. An incoherent argument may sound something like this. "I deserve to go to the dance because it is the second Tuesday of the month and my feet are a size ten." The reasons do not follow each other logically and do not even relate. It's an incoherent mess.
Vocabulary lists containing incoherent
A Christmas Carol
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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The Call of the Wild
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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.
Incoherent hieroglyphs plate the walls, plastic pharaohs stand guard in the check-in lane, and taxis idle under the haunches of a gargantuan Sphinx.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025
Incoherent and unserious remarks delivered with confidence and aplomb are still incoherent and unserious remarks.
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2015
Incoherent means the waves have random phase relationships.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
"Incoherent attempts to deliver efficiencies will not deliver value for money and will damage the services people rely on in times like these."
From The Guardian • Apr. 8, 2010
Incoherent as the narrative was, it sufficed to tell Isidore only too plainly what had happened; yet he could at first scarcely realise it all.
From The King's Warrant A Story of Old and New France by Engelbach, Alfred H.
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.
