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- Dictionaryincoherent/ˌɪnkə(ʊ)ˈhɪərənt/
adjective
- 1. (of spoken or written language) expressed in an incomprehensible or confusing way; unclear: "he screamed some incoherent threat" Similar Opposite
- 2. (of waves) having no definite or stable phase relationship.
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a. : lacking normal clarity or intelligibility in speech or thought. incoherent with grief. b. : lacking orderly continuity, arrangement, or relevance : inconsistent. an incoherent essay. c. : lacking cohesion : loose. incoherently adverb.
expressed in a way that is not clear, especially with ideas or words that are not connected in a sensible or clear way: The talk she gave was incoherent and badly prepared. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Difficult to understand. abstrusely. ambiguity. ambiguously. esoterically. fathomlessly. garble. labyrinthine. lost. non-intuitive.
If someone is incoherent, they are talking in a confused and unclear way. As the evening progressed, he became increasingly incoherent. The man was almost incoherent with fear.
Incoherent means that something is difficult to understand because it's not holding together. A lot of people use incoherent to mean unintelligible, which is a perfectly fine usage. But it specifically means unintelligible due to a lack of cohesion, or sticking together.
expressed in a way that is not clear, especially with ideas or words that are not connected in a sensible or clear way: The talk she gave was incoherent and badly prepared. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Difficult to understand. abstruse.
in·co·her·ent. (ĭn′kō-hîr′ənt) adj. 1. Lacking cohesion, connection, or harmony; not coherent: incoherent fragments of a story. 2. Unable to think or express one's thoughts in a clear or orderly manner: incoherent with grief. in′co·her′ent·ly adv. in′co·her′ent·ness n.
There are eight meanings listed in OED's entry for the word incoherent. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
