cogent
Americanadjective
-
convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling.
-
to the point; relevant; pertinent.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cogent
1650–60; < Latin cōgent- (stem of cōgēns, present participle of cōgere to drive together, collect, compel), equivalent to cōg- ( co- co- + ag-, stem of agere to drive) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
When you make a cogent argument, it means your argument is clear and persuasive. In these days of 24-hour entertainment news and sound-bite sized explanations of complex government policy, it’s hard to find a cogent argument amidst all the emotional outbursts. Cogent comes from a Latin word meaning "to drive together," so cogent thinking is well-organized: it hangs together. If you try to convince your mayor to build a new park by saying that playgrounds are good, seeing the sky is nice, and raccoons are cool…well that’s not a cogent argument; it’s just random. But you could cogently argue that parks contribute to civic happiness by providing space for exercise, community, and encounters with nature.
Vocabulary lists containing cogent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Bayliss gives a cogent account of the Peloponnesian War, a 27-year slugfest that finally resulted in Sparta’s domination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Even so, many of the most memorable moments come in the form of cogent micro-essays, smartly curated ensembles of work bearing a legible, lucid premise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
For the reporters covering this president, it has, in a word, been impossible to pull a cogent quote from him.
From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2025
Some of this stuff was cogent, a lot of it was tiresome, but ultimately—and this is key—all of it was the result of pressure from the public.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2025
Studies have been done, in fact, in which experts in a given field have analyzed such random phenomena and come up with cogent “explanations” for the patterns.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
