incoherent

[in-koh-heer-uhnt, -her-]

adjective

1. without logical or meaningful connection; disjointed; rambling.

   an incoherent sentence.

   Synonyms: muddled, irrational, confused

2. characterized by such thought or language, as a person.

   incoherent with rage.

3. not coherent or cohering.

   an incoherent mixture.

4. lacking physical cohesion; loose.

   incoherent dust.

5. lacking unity or harmony of elements.

   an incoherent public.

6. lacking congruity of parts; uncoordinated.

7. different or incompatible by nature, as things.

8. Physics.,  (of a wave) having a low degree of coherence.

incoherent

/ ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪərənt /

adjective

1. lacking in clarity or organization; disordered

2. unable to express oneself clearly; inarticulate

3. physics (of two or more waves) having the same frequency but not the same phase

   incoherent light

Other Word Forms

• incoherently adverb
• incoherence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of incoherent¹

First recorded in 1620–30; in- ³ + coherent

Example Sentences

By Thursday, September 18, 2008, however, the big picture had grown so unstable that the small picture had become nearly incoherent to him.

Read more on Literature

Economic uncertainty created by incoherent policy decisions, including threats and retractions of tariff policies, federal worker layoffs, and immigration enforcement actions, is itself a serious economic threat that is freezing business planning in place.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He said he grew suspicious when someone asked him for a retroactive approval of the order with incoherent documents produced after it was made, and reported this to his superiors.

Read more on Barron's

Continuing to fund military operations while simultaneously claiming the president is acting unconstitutionally is incoherent.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"After this rambling, incoherent speech, it is clear Reform's economy policy is in chaos."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• disjointed 
• incomprehensible 
• incongruous 
• irrational 
• jumbled www.thesaurus.com
• muddled 
• puzzling 
• rambling 
• uneven