Definition of coherenext

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb cohere contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of cohere are adhere, cleave, cling, and stick. While all these words mean "to become closely attached," cohere suggests a sticking together of parts so that they form a unified mass.

eggs will make the mixture cohere

When can adhere be used instead of cohere?

While in some cases nearly identical to cohere, adhere is often interchangeable with stick but sometimes implies a growing together.

antibodies adhering to a virus

In what contexts can cleave take the place of cohere?

The meanings of cleave and cohere largely overlap; however, cleave stresses strength of attachment.

the wet shirt cleaved to his back

When would cling be a good substitute for cohere?

The words cling and cohere can be used in similar contexts, but cling implies attachment by hanging on with arms or tendrils.

clinging to a capsized boat

When is it sensible to use stick instead of cohere?

In some situations, the words stick and cohere are roughly equivalent. However, stick implies attachment by affixing or by being glued together.

couldn't get the label to stick

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cohere For a party that’s struggled to cohere around a single economic message, this issue may point the way forward. Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026 Does the arbitrary nature of our daily existence cohere into something resembling a story? Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 Still, somehow, the film does eventually cohere into a half-decent entertainment, as Humdinger’s greed leads to an environmental disaster that threatens to destroy dogs and dinos alike. Caspar Salmon, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026 The Willamette is less a river running through Oregon than one of the reasons Oregon coheres at all. Spencer Elliott, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for cohere
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cohere
Verb
  • Playing Alice on the Apple TV+ series has also coincided with a formative stretch in Maxwell’s career.
    Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The sharp price hikes have coincided with an escalation in the Iran war, including a recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia's critical East-West oil pipeline.
    Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • AfD appears just short of an absolute majority, leaving questions over whether other parties’ refusal to cooperate can still keep Germany’s first far-right state government from emerging.
    Geir Moulson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • If the horizon is clear and the weather cooperates, these are the evenings to circle on your skywatching calendar.
    Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In November 2024, for instance, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a policy banning transgender people from using some Capitol restrooms that do not correspond with their gender at birth.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026
  • To construct this curve, experts formed a cross section of objects in higher dimensions, the boundary of which corresponds to the elliptic curve.
    Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • House of the Dragon, meanwhile, specified that the prophecy was about a Targaryen ruler who would unite Westeros against a coming darkness from the far north.
    Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • To watch 2026 college football means receiving the impression that all of sports and politics are united in favor of a perfect bill, and none of that is the case.
    Jason Kirk, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • As one of the three colorways that conformed with the NBA’s uniform regulations, the sneaker is rendered primarily in white.
    Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • However, insects such as the fruit fly and plants such as the silverweed cinquefoil have also been shown to conform to Gloger’s rule.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Haim and her sisters are longtime friends of Swift’s and have collaborated on various musical projects.
    Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Which sounds naff, but a great company is just actually a collection of processes that [also allow people to] innovate and change and collaborate.
    Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Democratic and Republican voters agree that the American public should decide the future of AI development, not billionaires in Silicon Valley, according to new polling shared first with Semafor.
    Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Last month, Frasers agreed to purchase Harvey Nichols out of administration.
    Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Ergonomics was about chairs that were built for people, rather than chairs designed to fit efficiently into an office or be simple to stack and move.
    Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Engineers must fit the reactor, shielding and power-conversion equipment inside a combat vehicle.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cohere.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cohere. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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