Coherent

How to spell coherent

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce coherent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does coherent mean?

1. adjectiveLogical, clear, and consistent, with all the parts fitting sensibly together.

Coherent in a sentence

• The manager asked for a coherent plan before approving the budget.

• After two cups of coffee her argument finally became coherent and easy to follow.

Where does coherent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin cohaerere, which combined co- meaning 'together' with haerere meaning 'to stick or cling'. Literally, then, something coherent is something that 'sticks together', and the modern senses all grow from that physical image of parts holding fast to one another. English took it up in the late 1500s, at first describing things that were physically joined or consistent, and soon extended it to arguments, ideas, and speech that hang together logically. The same haerere root sits inside the everyday relatives 'adhere', 'adhesive', and 'hesitate', which is a useful memory hook for the silent feel of the middle. The common spelling trap is the unstressed ending: writers must remember it is -ent (matching adherent), never -ant.

How the word is built

• co- (together)
• here (from Latin haerere: to stick, cling)
• -ent (adjective suffix)