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COHERENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Sticking together
Example:
tenacious burrs
Synonyms:
coherent; tenacious
Classified under:
Similar:
adhesive (tending to adhere)
Derivation:
cohere (come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation)
coherence; coherency (the state of cohering or sticking together)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(physics) of waves having a constant phase relation
Classified under:
Antonym:
incoherent ((physics) of waves having no stable definite or stable phase relation)
Domain category:
physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts
Example:
a coherent argument
Synonyms:
coherent; consistent; logical; ordered
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
seamless (perfectly consistent and coherent)
Also:
logical (capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning)
rational (consistent with or based on or using reason)
Antonym:
incoherent (without logical or meaningful connection)
Derivation:
cohere (have internal elements or parts logically connected so that aesthetic consistency results)
cohere (cause to form a united, orderly, and aesthetically consistent whole)
coherence; coherency (logical and orderly and consistent relation of parts)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Capable of thinking and expressing yourself in a clear and consistent manner
Example:
she was more coherent than she had been just after the accident
Synonyms:
coherent; logical; lucid
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
rational (consistent with or based on or using reason)
Derivation:
coherency (logical and orderly and consistent relation of parts)
Context examples:
By this time, my dearest sister, you have received my hurried letter; I wish this may be more intelligible, but though not confined for time, my head is so bewildered that I cannot answer for being coherent.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Using the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array radio telescope, a team of astronomers has captured for the first time an image of large-scale, coherent, magnetic fields in the halo of a faraway spiral galaxy, confirming theoretical modeling of how galaxies generate magnetic fields and potentially increasing knowledge of how galaxies form and evolve.
(Giant magnetic ropes seen in Whale Galaxy's halo, National Science Foundation)
A class of gels—semisolid systems which consist of suspensions made up of either small inorganic particles or large organic molecules interpenetrated by a liquid—in which the structural coherent matrix contains a high portion of liquid, usually water.
(Jelly Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)
