coherence
Americannoun
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logical interconnection; overall sense or understandability.
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congruity; consistency.
- Synonyms:
- rationality, agreement, harmony, correspondence
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Physics, Optics. (of waves) the state of being coherent.
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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.
noun
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logical or natural connection or consistency
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another word for cohesion
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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.
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See also Bose-Einstein condensate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coherence
First recorded in 1570–80; coher(ent) + -ence
Explanation
When something has coherence, all of its parts fit together well. An argument with coherence is logical and complete — with plenty of supporting facts. Coherence comes from a Latin word meaning “to stick together." When you say policies, arguments and strategies are coherent, you’re praising them for making sense. Scientists are always looking for coherence in data to support their hypotheses. And coaches are always looking for coherence in their teams, so they don't fall apart.
Vocabulary lists containing coherence
Argumentative Writing, List 2
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Expository Writing, List 1
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The Things They Carried
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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.
Even partially coherent light sources can produce correlated photon pairs, while also transferring some of their own coherence properties to the generated photons.
From Science Daily • May 18, 2026
The work was subsequently submitted to reading committees, tasked with checking its syntax and overall coherence.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
But increasingly, it raises the question of whether coherence is being exercised or simply claimed.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Mr. Armitage captures this with expert subtlety, allowing the narrative to unfurl without imposing false coherence upon it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
So eager are readers to seek coherence that they will often supply it when none exists.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
