Coherence

/kəʊˈhɪəɹ.ən(t)s/ · noun

Meaning

The quality of cohering, or being coherent; internal consistency..

Definitions by Sense

1. The quality of cohering, or being coherent; internal consistency.
2. The quality of forming a unified whole.
3. A logical arrangement of parts, as in writing.
4. (physics, of waves) The property of having the same wavelength and phase.
5. (linguistics, translation studies) A semantic relationship between different parts of the same text.

Example Sentences

His arguments lacked coherence.

Mrs. Grose listened with dumb emotion; she forbore to ask me what this meaning might be; so that, presently, to put the thing with some coherence and with the mere aid of her presence to my own mind, I went on: “That he’s an injury to the others.”

He would then put down his pencil and stare in front of him, and wonder in what respects the world was different—it had, perhaps, more solidity, more coherence, more importance, greater depth.

When I come to his connection with Blanche Stroeve I am exasperated by the fragmentariness of the facts at my disposal. To give my story coherence I should describe the progress of their tragic union, but I know nothing of the three months during which they lived together.

In a lesson on coherence in academic writing, students engaged in the following discussion on the online platform TodaysMeet.

Synonyms for coherence

Antonyms for coherence

Related Words

Word Forms

• coherences
• cohærence

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions