coherent
adjective
co·her·ent
kō-ˈhir-ənt 
-ˈher-
1
a
: logically or aesthetically ordered or integrated : consistent
coherent style
a coherent argument
b
: having clarity or intelligibility : understandable
a coherent person
a coherent passage
2
: having the quality of holding together or cohering
3
a
: relating to or composed of waves having a constant difference in phase
coherent light
b
: producing coherent light
a coherent source
coherently
adverb
Examples of coherent in a Sentence
… the diaries and the novels demonstrate how a novelist tweaks and grooms reality into something more structured and coherent than life as it is lived.
—
Penelope Lively, Atlantic, February 2001
He is without a political agenda as he is without a coherent moral sensibility.
—Joyce Carol Oates, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 1990
At times, without my insisting on it, my writings become coherent; the successive elements that occur to me are clearly related.
—William Stafford, Writing the Australian Crawl, 1978
This time the song was old, a pattern of rhythmic monosyllables which had lost coherent meaning somewhere in time.
—Tony Hillerman, The Blessing Way, 1970
He proposed the most coherent plan to improve the schools.
They are able to function as a coherent group.
Penelope Lively, Atlantic, February 2001
He is without a political agenda as he is without a coherent moral sensibility.
—Joyce Carol Oates, Entertainment Weekly, 27 July 1990
At times, without my insisting on it, my writings become coherent; the successive elements that occur to me are clearly related.
—William Stafford, Writing the Australian Crawl, 1978
This time the song was old, a pattern of rhythmic monosyllables which had lost coherent meaning somewhere in time.
—Tony Hillerman, The Blessing Way, 1970
He proposed the most coherent plan to improve the schools.
They are able to function as a coherent group.
Recent Examples on the Web
But the partnership’s work on emerging Pillar 2 technologies is less coherent than AUKUS plans for Australian nuclear submarines.
—Gary Roughead, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025
Because the friction caused by waves that slightly interfere is slightly less stable than the coherent state when waves seamlessly add up.
—Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Their new collaboration is more satisfying than that uneven and overlong puzzle box, not to mention more readily coherent as a narrative.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
With Charles, the focus has always been on weaving them together into something coherent, authentic and inspiring — that is truly and authentically him.
—Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coherent
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Gary Roughead, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025
Because the friction caused by waves that slightly interfere is slightly less stable than the coherent state when waves seamlessly add up.
—Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Their new collaboration is more satisfying than that uneven and overlong puzzle box, not to mention more readily coherent as a narrative.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
With Charles, the focus has always been on weaving them together into something coherent, authentic and inspiring — that is truly and authentically him.
—Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coherent
Cite this Entry
“Coherent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherent. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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