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

That’s because the case brings together two muddy legal regimes: copyright law, which is renowned for its craziness and confusion; and AI law, which may be years away from coalescing into coherence.

From Los Angeles Times

While the impact of these thinkers on the campaign to end slavery and achieve full citizenship has been increasingly acknowledged in recent decades, the breadth, coherence and significance of their vision remains little known.

From Salon

To the extent that there is any coherence to the Trump platform on science, it is that it will double down on policies that will make Earth harder to inhabit for future generations, not to mention the ongoing “biological holocaust” happening to the natural world.

From Salon

Early-year concerns that the 81-year-old president lacked the stamina and verbal coherence to campaign for reelection had largely been quieted by his energetic State of the Union performance.

From Slate

One poll of viewers found that they felt Trump, who is not exactly a model of verbal clarity or coherence himself, had “won” the debate by a margin of 40 points, an unheard-of level of consensus in modern America.

From Slate

Related Words

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