What does "incoherence" mean?
The quality of being incoherent.; The quality of not making logical sense or of not being logically connected.
Incoherence
/ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪəɹəns/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The quality of being incoherent.; The quality of not making logical sense or of not being logically connected.
- Grammar: incoherence is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: unintelligibility, ablation, abstraction, academic disunity.
- Useful contrasts: coherent logic, coherent reasoning, cohesive performance.
- Usage evidence: The Philippines is a real hodgepodge, the people, the places, and the languages. This incoherence confuses non-Filipinos. Certainly, the Philippines is not monolithic. The Philippines has high dependency on the Anglosphere, but this affair is changing with the new acquaintances with neighbouring Asian peoples. Previously, there were just two conditions for Filipinos, being in the Philippines and being "stateside," which is now an outmoded paradigm.
How to use "incoherence"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "incoherence" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The quality of being incoherent.; The quality of not making logical sense or of not being logically connected. countable, uncountable
"HE DESCENDED, signifieth a voluntarie motion, where as the bodie dead hath neither WILL nor MOTION. […] Though therefore this exposition cannot be charged with falsitie, for Christ was trulie buried; yet may it not bee endured by reason of […] the improprietie and incoherence of the worde, that a deade corps should descend […]"
- 2 nonsense that is simply incoherent and unintelligible wordnet
- 3 The quality of being incoherent.; The quality of not holding together physically. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"1669, Robert Boyle, “The History of Fluidity and Firmness,” Section 16, in Certain Physiological Essays and Other Tracts, London: Henry Herringman, p. 182, […] if it [Salt-Petre] be beaten into an impalpable powder, this powder, when it is pour’d out, will emulate a Liquor, by reason that the smallness and incoherence of the parts do both make them easie to be put into motion […]"
- 4 lack of cohesion or clarity or organization wordnet
- 5 Something incoherent; something that does not make logical sense or is not logically connected. countable
"[…] Incoherences in Matter and Suppositions, without Proofs put handsomly together in good Words and a plausible Stile, are apt to pass for strong Reason and good Sense, till they come to be look’d into with Attention."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Thinking or speech that is so disorganized that it is essentially inapprehensible to others. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
coherent logiccoherent reasoningcohesive performanceconceptual relevance
Example
"The Philippines is a real hodgepodge, the people, the places, and the languages. This incoherence confuses non-Filipinos. Certainly, the Philippines is not monolithic. The Philippines has high dependency on the Anglosphere, but this affair is changing with the new acquaintances with neighbouring Asian peoples. Previously, there were just two conditions for Filipinos, being in the Philippines and being "stateside," which is now an outmoded paradigm."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "incoherence"?
Common synonyms include: unintelligibility, ablation, abstraction, academic disunity, academic incoherence, alienation.
How do you use "incoherence" in a sentence?
The Philippines is a real hodgepodge, the people, the places, and the languages. This incoherence confuses non-Filipinos. Certainly, the Philippines is not monolithic. The Philippines has high dependency on the Anglosphere, but this affair is changing with the new acquaintances with neighbouring Asian peoples. Previously, there were just two conditions for Filipinos, being in the Philippines and being "stateside," which is now an outmoded paradigm.
How do you pronounce "incoherence"?
Pronounced /ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪəɹəns/.
Etymology
From in- + coherence, formed on model of Italian incoerenza.