Word of the Day

: January 15, 2010

incoherent

adjective in-koh-HEER-unt

What It Means

a : lacking coherence: as

b : lacking cohesion : loose

c : lacking orderly continuity, arrangement, or relevance : inconsistent

d : lacking normal clarity or intelligibility in speech or thought

incoherent in Context

I found myself unable to follow the movie’s rambling and incoherent plot.

Did You Know?

Something that is coherent holds or sticks together firmly, with resistance to separation (that is, it coheres). “Coherent,” ultimately from the Latin “co-” (“together”) and “haerēre” (“to stick or cling”), entered English in the 16th century and almost from the beginning was used both of physical things (“coherent stone”) and of things which hold together in a much less palpable way (“coherent thoughts”). Its antonym, “incoherent,” entered the language about three-quarters of a century later. Like “coherent,” “incoherent” can be applied to both the tangible and the intangible. But, whether we are speaking of sand or logic, all things incoherent have one thing in common: they do not hold together, literally or figuratively, in a unified or intelligible whole.