Make Your Point > Archived Issues > COHERENT
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pronounce
COHERENT:
Say it "ko HERE unt."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Remember when Gru's plan falls apart as he's presenting it?
All the parts of the plan were sticking together so nicely. Such a coherent plan.
You guys, I love the word coherent. Coherent things are orderly, united, logical, consistent, harmonious. I love a coherent plan like I love an orderly closet.
Even the etymology of coherent is neat and tidy: the co- part means "together," and the -herent part means "sticking." Something coherent has parts that stick together.
See if you can recall a closely related word:
Something __herent (literally "sticking in") is a basic, natural, permanent, characteristic part of something else. As in, "Gru's love of supervillainy is __herent."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "cohere" has Latin roots that mean "stick together."
When things cohere, they join together, stick together, stay together, or make sense together as a whole.
So, coherent things are effective, or they make sense, because all their parts stick together.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "a coherent statement;" "Their approach is perfectly coherent."
Other forms:
Coherence; coherently; cohere, cohered, cohering.
The opposite is "incoherent," and its other forms are "incoherence" and "incoherently."
how to use it:
Pick this very common word, "coherent," when you need to strike a formal tone, and when you need to describe something that makes sense because all of its parts or pieces are arranged in a logical way.
Often we talk about coherent speakers and speeches, as well as coherent writers and pieces of writing. For example, we talk about coherent (and incoherent) questions, answers, comments, articles, arguments, stories, descriptions, and excuses.
We might also talk about coherent rules and policies, coherent strategies and approaches, or even coherent philosophies and systems of belief.
If you're talking about something that almost makes perfect sense, something with individual parts that hang together, and yet somehow the whole thing doesn't quite hang together, then instead of calling it coherent, call it cohesive.
examples:
"Sporting more of a performative style than a coherent ideology, he is, to misquote Lenin, a 'useful idiot.'"
— John Feffer, Salon, 27 June 2020
"[Ang Lee's] films can be recognized by their signature interest in matters of the heart. From his Taiwanese Father Knows Best trilogy and subsequent English-language debuts, Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm, to his current engagement with digital filmmaking, Lee's canon continually asks: What do you know of my heart? While his films traverse different historical and ethnic traditions, this enduring question draws an emotional coherence across all of them."
— Jane Hu, Slate, 16 October 2019
"'And he's not...everyone thinks...big Quidditch hero—' Snape's bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent."
— J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, 2007
has this page helped you understand "coherent"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "coherent" without saying "lucid" or "systematic."
try it out:
Talk about someone who gets things done: someone from real life or fiction who's always got a coherent plan to make things happen.
(Personally I'd go with Hermione Granger, or Captain Picard.)
If the person you're thinking of is a leader of some sort, how does this person provide coherent leadership, or a coherent set of principles, or a coherent vision of the future?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is Perfectly Cromulent Words!
In each issue this month, match a scene from The Simpsons to the term that it calls to mind.
To see the answer, scroll to the bottom of the issue.
Try this one today:
Does the scene below suggest the word barrage, benediction, or bric-a-brac?
review this word:
A. ugly and poorly designed: it looks bad.
B. edgy and daring: it gets a rise out of people.
C. illogical and meaningless: it makes no sense.
2. The Onion joked that a guest on CNN stunned the anchors with her "long, coherent thought," filled with _____ claims.
A. "unverified" and "shifty"
B. "articulate" and "relevant"
C. "muddled" and "unhinged"
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Remember when Gru's plan falls apart as he's presenting it?
The word "cohere" has Latin roots that mean "stick together."
Part of speech:
Pick this very common word, "coherent," when you need to strike a formal tone, and when you need to describe something that makes sense because all of its parts or pieces are arranged in a logical way.
"Sporting more of a performative style than a coherent ideology, he is, to misquote Lenin, a 'useful idiot.'"
Explain the meaning of "coherent" without saying "lucid" or "systematic."
Talk about someone who gets things done: someone from real life or fiction who's always got a coherent plan to make things happen.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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