cohere

verb

co·​here kō-ˈhir 

cohered; cohering

intransitive verb

1

a

: to hold together firmly as parts of the same mass

broadly : stick, adhere

b

: to display cohesion of plant parts

2

: to hold together as a mass of parts that cohere

3

a

: to become united in principles, relationships, or interests

b

: to be logically or aesthetically consistent

transitive verb

: to cause (parts or components) to cohere

Did you know?

Cohere vs Adhere

When you finish writing a paper, you may feel that it coheres well, since it's sharply focused and all the ideas seem to support each other. When all the soldiers in an army platoon feel like buddies, the platoon has become a cohesive unit. In science class you may learn the difference between cohesion (the tendency of a chemical's molecules to stick together) and adhesion (the tendency of the molecules of two different substances to stick together). Water molecules tend to cohere, so water falls from the sky in drops, not as separate molecules. But water molecules also adhere to molecules of other substances, so raindrops will often cling to the underside of a clothesline for a while before gravity pulls them down.

Synonyms

• accord
• agree
• answer
• check
• chord
• coincide
• comport
• conform
• consist
• correspond
• dovetail
• fit
• go
• harmonize
• jibe
• rhyme
• rime
• sort
• square
• tally

Choose the Right Synonym for cohere

stick, adhere, cohere, cling, cleave mean to become closely attached.

stick implies attachment by affixing or by being glued together.

couldn't get the label to stick

adhere is often interchangeable with stick but sometimes implies a growing together.

antibodies adhering to a virus

cohere suggests a sticking together of parts so that they form a unified mass.

eggs will make the mixture cohere

cling implies attachment by hanging on with arms or tendrils.

clinging to a capsized boat

cleave stresses strength of attachment.

the wet shirt cleaved to his back

Examples of cohere in a Sentence

the account in his journal coheres with the official report of the battle

beset by personal animosities, the people of the neighborhood could not cohere into an effective civic association

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the guests, a local city administrator who had spent years abroad, delivered an acerbic speech about Lebanon’s failure to cohere as a country. —Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024

With either reading, the movie cohered brilliantly, and the question all but evaporated by the time its double-barrelled climax arrived. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024

None of it coheres as either political reflection or narrative. —Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2024

But none of this has yet cohered into a systematic approach to improving how teams work. —Angus Dawson katy George, Harvard Business Review, 1 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cohaerēre "to stick together, be in contact with, be connected," from co- co- + haerēre "to be closely attached, stick," going back to a stem *hais-, of obscure origin

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

cohere

verb

co·​here kō-ˈhi(ə)r 

cohered; cohering

1

a

: to hold together firmly as parts of the same mass

b

: to consist of parts that cohere

2

a

: to become united in principles, relationships, or interests

b

: to be in agreement between parts

coherence

-ˈhir-ən(t)s

-ˈher-

noun

coherent

-ənt

adjective

coherently adverb