coherent
Americanadjective
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logically connected; consistent.
a coherent argument.
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having a natural or due agreement of parts; harmonious.
a coherent design.
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cohering; sticking together.
a coherent mass of sticky candies.
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Physics, Optics. of or relating to waves that maintain a fixed phase relationship, as in coherent light, or light in which the electromagnetic waves maintain a fixed and predictable phase relationship with each other over a period of time.
adjective
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capable of logical and consistent speech, thought, etc
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logical; consistent and orderly
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cohering or sticking together
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physics (of two or more waves) having the same phase or a fixed phase difference
coherent light
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(of a system of units) consisting only of units the quotient or product of any two of which yield the unit of the resultant quantity
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coherent
First recorded in 1570–80; from Medieval Latin cohērent-, variant of Latin cohaerent- (stem of cohaerēns ), present participle of cohaerēre; see cohere, -ent
Explanation
Something coherent is logical and clear. "I told you if you didn't do your homework you couldn't watch TV. You didn't do your homework so you can't watch TV." This is a coherent argument (and annoying as well). The thing about such coherent arguments, as your Mom well knows, is that they are also easily and clearly understood. If someone speaks coherently, they are speaking clearly and lucidly. A slight variation on the meaning comes in the sense of something that is united clearly as a whole and a recognizable entity. You might say, for example, that New York City is a "culturally coherent region" within the United States.
Vocabulary lists containing coherent
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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List 1
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Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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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.
Drake knows that a coherent worldview isn’t something he has to worry about.
From Salon • May 21, 2026
Fossil evidence helped us resolve a longstanding question, but only modern computing made it possible to narrow thousands of evolutionary scenarios, each informed by trait data for hundreds of species, into a single, coherent story.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2026
However, what the sector now needs is a coherent U.K. steel strategy that addresses energy pricing, trade alignment, carbon border measures and a clear pathway to green steel investment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
There is no coherent way to reconcile the court’s new rule with the text Congress wrote.
From Slate • May 8, 2026
Most astronomers, according to Curtis Peebles, expected little, particularly as the comet was not a coherent sphere but a string of twenty-one fragments.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
