coherence

[ koh-heer-uhns, -her- ]

noun

1. the act or state of cohering; cohesion.
2. logical interconnection; overall sense or understandability.
3. congruity; consistency.

   Synonyms: rationality, agreement, harmony, correspondence

4. Physics, Optics. (of waves) the state of being coherent.
5. Linguistics. the property of unity in a written text or a segment of spoken discourse that stems from the links among its underlying ideas and from the logical organization and development of its thematic content. Compare cohesion ( def 4 ).

coherence

/ kəʊˈhɪərənsɪ; kəʊˈhɪərəns /

noun

1. logical or natural connection or consistency
2. another word for cohesion

coherence

/ kō-hîr′əns,-hĕr′- /

1. A property holding for two or more waves or fields when each individual wave or field is in phase with every other one. Lasers, for example, emit almost perfectly coherent light; all the photons emitted by a laser have the same frequency and are in phase. Since quantum states can be described by a wave equation , coherence can hold for quantum states in general, though only among bosons . Coherence is generally possible in physical systems that may undergo superposition . Maintaining coherence of light is important in fiber optic communications.
2. See also Bose-Einstein condensate

Other Words From

• nonco·herence noun
• nonco·heren·cy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of coherence¹

First recorded in 1570–80; coher(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

Their devices are designed to easily connect with one another, creating cohesion and coherence in the home, from wireless security systems to robot vacuums and light bulbs.

From Popular-Science

Since then, multiple studies observed the same coherence in our neurons when we connect with other people—for example, when making eye contact, conversations, or collective decisions.

From Singularity Hub 

Philadelphia’s offense frequently lacks coherence and uses personnel in odd ways.

From Washington Post

The most successful food pairings strike a carefully measured balance between complexity and coherence.

From Popular-Science

They found that background radiation from cosmic rays and more prosaic sources like trace elements in concrete walls is enough to put a hard four-millisecond limit on the coherence time of superconducting qubits.

From Singularity Hub 

For now, the coherence and scale of Moral Mondays is a success ironically founded in shared defeat.

From The Daily Beast

That decision would have forced photos in standardized formats to create a stylistic coherence.

From The Daily Beast

Catastrophe,” declares Wright at one point, “lacked coherence.

From The Daily Beast

Lapid may not share Bennett's ideological coherence but does share his generational sentiments.

From The Daily Beast

These goodies would add coherence both to the peace process and to U.S. policy toward the evolving Arab Spring.

From The Daily Beast

A few unimportant elisions have been made for the sake of brevity and coherence.

From Project Gutenberg

In arranging the materials of a story, the main considerations are Mass and Coherence.

From Project Gutenberg

Coherence demands that events closely related shall stand close together: that an effect shall immediately follow its cause.

From Project Gutenberg

The arrangement depends on the principles that guided in narration, Mass and Coherence.

From Project Gutenberg

Though the same principles of Coherence and Mass guide, they are more difficult to apply.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• consistency
• continuity
• integrity
• rationality
• solidarity
• unity