incoherence

/ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪərəns/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪrəns/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌin-kō-ˈhir-ən(t)s -ˈher-/ (ame, mw)

incoherence — noun

1. The condition of being unable to express your thoughts or feelings in a clear an

1.名詞C1
釋義

The condition of being unable to express your thoughts or feelings in a clear and connected way when speaking, often because of strong emotion, illness, or confusion.

例句

After the accident, Amara's speech was marked by sudden pauses and total incoherence.

uncountable noun describing speech quality

The professor noticed the incoherence in Vikram's presentation and asked him to slow down.

pattern: incoherence in + possessive noun

同義詞
  • gibberish

    stronger, suggesting meaningless sound rather than just unclear expression; less formal

  • rambling

    focuses on speaking at length without direction, whereas incoherence focuses on unclear connection of ideas

反義詞
  • clarity

    the quality of being clear and easy to understand

  • fluency

    smooth and easy speech, opposite of halting or confused expression

文法句型

incoherence + in + noun phrase

possessive + incoherence

用法筆記

This sense focuses on the speaker's difficulty in producing clear speech, rather than on the quality of the ideas themselves. Frequently used with possessive nouns or pronouns (her incoherence, the patient's incoherence).

常見錯誤

❌His speech was full of incoherence sentences.
✅His speech was full of incoherence.
💡Incoherence is a noun, not an adjective; use 'incoherent' before a noun.

2. The quality of writing, speech, or reasoning that lacks logical order, with idea

2.名詞C1
釋義

The quality of writing, speech, or reasoning that lacks logical order, with ideas or facts that do not connect in a sensible or meaningful way.

例句

The committee rejected the report because of its internal incoherence and contradictory claims.

collocation: internal incoherence

Emeka tried to follow the lecturer's argument but could not get past its logical incoherence.

同義詞
  • disorganization

    broader, can refer to physical mess; incoherence is specific to ideas and meaning

  • inconsistency

    focuses on contradictions between parts, while incoherence covers any lack of clear connection

  • disjointedness

    emphasizes that parts do not fit together smoothly; very close to incoherence but less common

反義詞
  • coherence

    the quality of being logical and well connected

  • consistency

    the quality of parts agreeing with each other

文法句型

incoherence + of + noun phrase

overall / internal / logical incoherence

用法筆記

Commonly describes texts, arguments, theories, or narratives. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not imply that the speaker or writer has a personal difficulty — the focus is on the content itself being illogically structured.

常見錯誤

❌The incoherence of the plan made us confused.
✅The incoherence of the plan made it hard to follow.
💡Use 'incoherence' for the quality that creates difficulty, not to describe a person's mental state.

3. A piece of speech or writing that is so confused and illogical that it cannot be

3.名詞C1
釋義

A piece of speech or writing that is so confused and illogical that it cannot be understood at all.

例句

What the journalist wrote was pure incoherence — none of the facts matched each other.

collocation: pure incoherence

Under cross-examination, the witness gave answers of such complete incoherence that the jury ignored them.

同義詞
  • nonsense

    broader and more common; can describe anything that is false or silly, not just unclear

  • gibberish

    suggests meaningless sounds or words, stronger than incoherence

  • drivel

    informal, suggests the content is both stupid and meaningless

反義詞
  • sense

    content that can be easily understood and is logically sound

文法句型

pure / total / complete incoherence

a string of / moment of incoherence

用法筆記

Unlike sense 2, which describes the quality of a text or argument, this sense refers to a specific instance or passage that is wholly impossible to understand — the content itself cannot be parsed at all. Often used with intensifiers like 'pure', 'total', or 'complete'.