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
Synonyms
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.
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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.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
The difficulty of finding a compelling and coherent narrative on China is one reason the opposition has failed to unify.
—Vic Chiang, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
Staying coherent and overcoming errors The quantum computing field faces significant hurdles in hardware and software development.
—Daniel Lidar, Discover Magazine, 23 Nov. 2023
So editing and refining and creating a coherent story, or feeling, was the challenge.
—Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Produced by Margo Price, the veteran singer’s first album since 2017 gathers songs old and new into a coherent, lively collection.
—Barry Mazor, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2023
One is probably most urgently to unite the tours so that there can be more coherent and sort of aligned interests.
—The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2023
The chatbot is able to generate seemingly coherent texts on a wide range of topics while it has on occasion been shown to entirely make things up.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
The Pan-African scope gives the album a sense of grand ambition that fits a major artist making his most coherent statement after several high-profile years in the game.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
The specifics of who killed whom aren’t always apparent or, for that matter, coherent.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
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Vic Chiang, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
Staying coherent and overcoming errors The quantum computing field faces significant hurdles in hardware and software development.
—Daniel Lidar, Discover Magazine, 23 Nov. 2023
So editing and refining and creating a coherent story, or feeling, was the challenge.
—Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
Produced by Margo Price, the veteran singer’s first album since 2017 gathers songs old and new into a coherent, lively collection.
—Barry Mazor, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2023
One is probably most urgently to unite the tours so that there can be more coherent and sort of aligned interests.
—The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 27 Sep. 2023
The chatbot is able to generate seemingly coherent texts on a wide range of topics while it has on occasion been shown to entirely make things up.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
The Pan-African scope gives the album a sense of grand ambition that fits a major artist making his most coherent statement after several high-profile years in the game.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2023
The specifics of who killed whom aren’t always apparent or, for that matter, coherent.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coherent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near coherent
Cite this Entry
“Coherent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherent. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on coherent
Nglish: Translation of coherent for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of coherent for Arabic Speakers
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