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5 dictionary results for: coherent
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
co·her·ent       [koh-heer-uhnt, -her-] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.logically connected; consistent: a coherent argument.
2.cohering; sticking together: a coherent mass of sticky candies.
3.having a natural or due agreement of parts; harmonious: a coherent design.
4.Physics, Optics. of or pertaining to waves that maintain a fixed phase relationship, as in coherent light.
Compare laser.

[Origin: 1570–80; < ML cohérent-, var. of L cohaerent- (s. of cohaeréns), prp. of cohaerére. See cohere, -ent]

—Related forms
co·her·ent·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
co·her·ent       (kō-hîr'ənt, -hěr'-)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Sticking together; cohering.
  2. Marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts: a coherent essay.
  3. Physics Of, relating to, or having waves with similar direction, amplitude, and phase that are capable of exhibiting interference.
  4. Of or relating to a system of units of measurement in which a small number of basic units are defined from which all others in the system are derived by multiplication or division only.
  5. Botany Sticking to but not fused with a part or an organ of the same kind.

co·her'ent·ly adv.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
coherent 
c.1555, from M.Fr. cohérent, from L. cohærentem (nom. cohærens), prp. of cohærere "cohere," from com- "together" + hærere "to stick" (see hesitation).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
coherent

adjective
1. marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts; "a coherent argument" [ant: incoherent] 
2. capable of thinking and expressing yourself in a clear and consistent manner; "a lucid thinker"; "she was more coherent than she had been just after the accident" 
3. (physics) of waves having a constant phase relation [ant: incoherent] 
4. sticking together; "two coherent sheets"; "tenacious burrs" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Coherent

Co*her"ent\, a. [L. cohaerens, p. pr. See Cohere.]

1. Sticking together; cleaving; as the parts of bodies; solid or fluid. --Arbuthnot.

2. Composed of mutually dependent parts; making a logical whole; consistent; as, a coherent plan, argument, or discourse.

3. Logically consistent; -- applied to persons; as, a coherent thinker. --Watts.

4. Suitable or suited; adapted; accordant. [Obs.]

Instruct my daughter how she shall persever, That time and place, with this deceit so lawful, May prove coherent. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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