incoherent
adjective
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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 some decades 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.
Examples of incoherent in a Sentence
Book Marks
july 17, Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
And the inevitable comparison doesn’t favor Bad Boy, whose often engaging but disjointed, tonally incoherent take on juvenile detention falls short of its focused and insightful predecessor.
—Judy Berman, Time, 2 May 2025
Elsewhere, outside of reasonably decent efforts like the first Wonder Woman or Peacemaker, we were treated mostly to an incoherent mess, from The Flash to Black Adam.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Retirement accounts have been bounced down and up and down again by an incoherent tariff policy.
—Don Harmon, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for incoherent
Cite this Entry
“Incoherent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incoherent. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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incoherent
adjective
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incoherent
adjective
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