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
Admittedly, these toys tried to handle all the combination aspects between Might Gaine and Might Kaiser, but the Amakuni Kizin range eschews this in favor of producing a more coherent figure.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
But the need for coherent choices in an environment with clear benefits and dangers on both sides would be hard enough if the White House kept its prudent and traditional silence.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 14 Sep. 2025
From semiconductor chip manufacturing to advanced imaging and spectroscopy, broadband coherent light has transformative potential.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Advertisement But days after the shooting, authorities have yet to discover a coherent motive for the killing of Kirk—the founder of Turning Point USA and a popular figure on the American right—and experts on extremism are similarly baffled by the possible motivations.
—Richard Hall, Time, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coherent
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Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
But the need for coherent choices in an environment with clear benefits and dangers on both sides would be hard enough if the White House kept its prudent and traditional silence.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 14 Sep. 2025
From semiconductor chip manufacturing to advanced imaging and spectroscopy, broadband coherent light has transformative potential.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
Advertisement Advertisement But days after the shooting, authorities have yet to discover a coherent motive for the killing of Kirk—the founder of Turning Point USA and a popular figure on the American right—and experts on extremism are similarly baffled by the possible motivations.
—Richard Hall, Time, 13 Sep. 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 17 Sep. 2025.
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