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
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.
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
His pledge to shift the agency’s posture toward coherent, forward-looking policy marks a significant departure from the SEC’s previous approach.
—Jason Brett, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Everyone is somehow still conscious and coherent enough to have a real conversation.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
After a certain amount of playtime, what’s on-screen stops looking like a coherent world and starts looking like inputs and outputs, challenges and rewards.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
Notwithstanding the resurgence of regionalism in international affairs, none of the contributors expect the five American countries to form a coherent Western Hemisphere lobby within the G-20.
—Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coherent
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Jason Brett, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Everyone is somehow still conscious and coherent enough to have a real conversation.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
After a certain amount of playtime, what’s on-screen stops looking like a coherent world and starts looking like inputs and outputs, challenges and rewards.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2025
Notwithstanding the resurgence of regionalism in international affairs, none of the contributors expect the five American countries to form a coherent Western Hemisphere lobby within the G-20.
—Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coherent
Cite this Entry
“Coherent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherent. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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