1
as in effectiveness
the capacity to persuade
the cogency of Thomas Paine's celebrated case for American independence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impact
the quality of an utterance that provokes interest and produces an effect
satirical comments of great cogency
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cogency
In one of its most demanding assignments of recent memory, the San Francisco Opera Chorus led by John Keene embodies one population after another — monkeys, undersea dwellers, gods and heavenly hangers-on — and does it with power and cogency.
—
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2025
TikTok’s algorithm started swamping me with humanities grad students of varying cogency.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
Masterpiece remakes offer something very different, speaking to us with surprising urgency and cogency across time.
—Jim Shepard, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
The play echoes this ever-important sentiment but with far less cogency on an American stage.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
European leaders refused to comment on the record about their perceptions of Biden’s cogency.
—Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 12 July 2024
The emphasis is on technical perfection, formal cogency, and unity of interpretive approach.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Here, his body of writing, published as well as unpublished, historical as well as contemporaneous, stands out for its cogency, intricacy, and fluency.
—Fredrik Logevall, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2025
TikTok’s algorithm started swamping me with humanities grad students of varying cogency.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Oct. 2025
Masterpiece remakes offer something very different, speaking to us with surprising urgency and cogency across time.
—Jim Shepard, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
The play echoes this ever-important sentiment but with far less cogency on an American stage.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
European leaders refused to comment on the record about their perceptions of Biden’s cogency.
—Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 12 July 2024
The emphasis is on technical perfection, formal cogency, and unity of interpretive approach.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Here, his body of writing, published as well as unpublished, historical as well as contemporaneous, stands out for its cogency, intricacy, and fluency.
—Fredrik Logevall, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cogency
Noun
-
These processes monitor patient safety, clinical documentation, treatment outcomes and overall operational effectiveness, reinforcing a culture of accountability and consistency.—
Ascend Agency,
Sun Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
The new data, which are released annually, follow a year of confusion and doubt in some quarters over the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.—
Lisa Schencker,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Anunoby’s early exit came hours after Brown lauded his impact.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
7 May 2026
-
Once again charming viewers with his native Australian accent, the actor remains effortlessly entertaining while using his charisma to neutralize caustic dialogue that would flatten a less likable performer on impact.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
But his dictionary, with its conclusiveness, was a huge publishing success.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The water is colored by the tamarack tree, kind of a root-beer color, which is a beautiful balance to all the greens — and just the metaphorical symbolic significance of it is really profound.—
Mary Divine,
Twin Cities,
9 May 2026
-
That story was told in the studio by Professor Julian Huxley, an evolutionary biologist, who used pickled wildlife specimens and a photograph of a coelacanth to explain the fish’s significance.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
That is according to a new analysis, shared exclusively with NPR ahead of its release, by States United Action, a nonprofit that seeks to protect elections and has been tracking candidate positions on the validity of election results since 2022.—
Miles Parks,
NPR,
4 May 2026
-
The team further confirmed its validity by comparing predictions with experimental results across a wide range of material combinations.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
What is the importance of drawing this distinction, though?—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
Saka’s importance to this Arsenal side cannot be overstated.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
That’s why Rosengren, UCSD colleagues Thomas Bewley and Ben Hanson, and colleagues at the University of Arizona are investigating rare, low-probability chances for destruction, thereby offering authorities the best advice on when to launch deflection missions.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 May 2026
-
Two people were killed and two others injured when two vehicles collided head-on Friday evening along a dusty, deserted stretch of road in the Antelope Valley, authorities said.—
Andrew Khouri,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
The beauty and persuasiveness of Claude’s response to Marks alone may be cause for skepticism, because personalization is one of Claude’s core product features.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The study released Thursday is not the first to try to measure the persuasiveness of AI.—
David Ingram,
NBC news,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cogency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cogency. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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