cohere

[ koh-heer ]

verb (used without object)

, co·hered, co·her·ing.

1. to stick together; be united; hold fast, as parts of the same mass:

   The particles of wet flour cohered to form a paste.

2. Physics. (of two or more similar substances) to be united within a body by the action of molecular forces.
3. to be naturally or logically connected:

   Without sound reasoning no argument will cohere.

   Synonyms: follow

4. to agree; be congruous:

   Her account of the incident cohered with his.

cohere

/ kəʊˈhɪə /

verb

1. to hold or stick firmly together
2. to be connected logically; be consistent
3. physics to be held together by the action of molecular forces

Word History and Origins

Origin of cohere¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin cohaerēre, equivalent to co- co- + haerēre “to stick, cling”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cohere¹

C16: from Latin cohaerēre from co- together + haerēre to cling, adhere

Synonym Study

See stick ².

Example Sentences

The skills developed in that job surely abetted the show’s two striking video pieces, in which animated moving shapes sometimes cohere into silhouetted human figures.

From Washington Post

Once a new queen emerged, the colony cohered again, suggesting that in addition to suppressing reproduction, queens also somehow control a colony’s voice.

From Science News

It’s a potpourri of insights that cohere around the positive Grassmannian, and around the unique mind that generated them.

From Quanta Magazine

I kept waiting for the little mysteries to cohere into something larger, but Todbaum’s motives don’t grow any clearer, nor does the nature of Sandy’s wariness.

From Washington Post

It’s not entirely clear how Ratcliffe’s allegation really coheres.

From Washington Post

A great work of fiction involves a certain frisson that occurs when its various components cohere and then ignite.

From The Daily Beast

These being too imperfect to be printed alone, his friends inserted them in the memorial, where they seemed best to cohere.

From Project Gutenberg

Remove the filmy part, and heat the frayed edges till they cohere and form an incipient tube.

From Project Gutenberg

To have him thus cohere into substance at a moment's notice lent him the novelty of a new creation.

From Project Gutenberg

The two packets of eggs sometimes cohere together at their lower ends.

From Project Gutenberg

If the residual gold is broken up, move the crucible so as to bring the particles together, so that they may cohere.

From Project Gutenberg