Meaning & use
incoherent
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Expressed in a way that is hard to follow because the ideas are not connected logically or clearly.
Grammar: Not usually compared: something is incoherent, not more incoherent than something else, though 'more incoherent' is possible in informal use.
Patterns
- incoherent speech
- incoherent argument
- become incoherent
His presentation was so incoherent that the audience lost interest.
The witness gave an incoherent account of the accident.
After the accident, she was incoherent and could not answer simple questions.
adjectivenot comparable
Not able to express ideas clearly, especially because of illness, injury, or strong emotion.
Grammar: Describes a person, often after a verb like 'be', 'become', or 'leave someone'.
Patterns
- be incoherent
- leave someone incoherent
- incoherent with pain
He was incoherent with pain and could barely speak.
The patient remained incoherent for several hours after the operation.
She was so angry that she became almost incoherent.
Word forms
| adverb | incoherently |
|---|---|
| noun | incoherence |
Common combinations
- incoherent speech
- The doctor noted the patient's incoherent speech.
- incoherent argument
- His essay presented an incoherent argument that was full of contradictions.
- become incoherent
- When he is tired, he tends to become incoherent.
- incoherent with anger
- She was incoherent with anger and could not finish her sentence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unintelligible
- Means impossible to understand, often because of poor sound or language; incoherent focuses more on the lack of logical connection.
- disjointed
- Describes something with parts that do not fit together smoothly, often used for writing or conversation.
- rambling
- Describes speech that goes on and on without a clear point; incoherent can also mean not able to speak clearly at all.
Opposites
Word family
- incoherence noun
- The quality of being unclear and disorganized.
- incoherently adverb
- In a way that is unclear and hard to follow.
- coherent adjective
- Clear, logical, and well organized.
Commonly confused: incoherent or inherent?
incoherent vs inherent
Inherent means existing as a natural part of something (e.g., 'the inherent risks'), while incoherent means not clear or logical.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Incoherent' is an adjective and fits after 'were'. Option 2 uses the adverb 'incoherently' where an adjective is needed; option 3 uses the noun 'incoherence'; option 4 changes the meaning by adding 'easily', which contradicts 'so ... that'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incoherent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.