coherent

adjective

co·​her·​ent kō-ˈhir-ənt How to pronounce coherent (audio)
-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
especially : cohesive, coordinated
a coherent plan for action
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Your music feels, from the beginning to now, very coherent. Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2024 What’s good enough for Pakistan at Multan can also work for a far more coherent outfit. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024 In this case, my task is to assemble and adjust, as much as necessary, the writings of a range of personalities to create one fairly coherent whole. Lydia Davis, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024 By that measure, the 90-minute encounter on CBS was better for Trump, whose running mate delivered a more coherent version of Trump's message than Trump himself managed to do at the presidential debate last month. Susan Page, USA TODAY, 2 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for coherent 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French coherent, borrowed from Latin cohaerent-, cohaerens "touching, adjacent, cohering," from present participle of cohaerēre "to cohere"

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of coherent was in 1557

Dictionary Entries Near coherent

Cite this Entry

“Coherent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherent. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on coherent

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!