coherence
/kəʊˈhɪərəns/ (bre, ipa) · /kəʊˈhɪrəns/ (ame, ipa) · /kō-ˈhir-ən(t)s -ˈher-/ (ame, mw)
coherence — noun
1. the quality of being well-organised and clear, where every part of an argument,
the quality of being well-organised and clear, where every part of an argument, article, or set of ideas connects smoothly to the others so that the whole thing is easy to understand — for example, a paragraph in which sentences follow one another logically has coherence, while one that jumps between unrelated points does not.
The professor noted the strong coherence between the data and the conclusions in Leila's research paper.
coherence + between + [nouns]
To improve coherence, the editor asked the writer to add short linking sentences between each section.
structure: improve coherence
The government's climate policy lacks coherence because the goals for 2030 do not match the promised actions.
A well-organised speech has internal coherence, so listeners can follow the main point from start to finish.
When each paragraph supports the same main argument, the overall coherence of the essay is much stronger.
- consistency
focuses on ideas not contradicting each other rather than smooth flow
- unity
suggests a single, unified effect rather than step-by-step logical connection
- clarity
emphasises how easy something is to understand, not necessarily the internal structure
- logical flow
more informal, often used for writing or speech; less academic
- incoherence
direct opposite; lack of logical connection
- disorganisation
focuses on messy structure rather than lack of logic specifically
文法句型
coherence + between/in/of [noun phrase]
用法筆記
Often used with adjectives such as 'strong', 'weak', 'internal', 'overall', or 'logical'. The verb 'cohere' and the adjective 'coherent' share the same root — learners often confuse 'coherent' with 'cohesive', which focuses on social or emotional unity rather than logical flow.