incoherent

/ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪərənt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɪnkəʊˈhɪrənt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌin-kō-ˈhir-ənt -ˈher-/ (ame, mw)

incoherent — adjective

  • incoherentpositive
  • more incoherentcomparative
  • most incoherentsuperlative

1. (of a person or their speech) so upset, drunk, ill, or shocked that the words co

1.形容詞C1
釋義

(of a person or their speech) so upset, drunk, ill, or shocked that the words come out broken, slurred, or hard to follow.

例句

After the car crash, Andrés was completely incoherent on the phone.

predicative: be incoherent describing a person

By midnight Talia had drunk so much wine that her speech became incoherent.

collocation: speech became incoherent

同義詞
  • unintelligible

    stronger; emphasises the listener can't decode the sounds at all

  • rambling

    still understandable word-by-word, but wanders without a point

  • inarticulate

    habitually unable to express oneself, even when calm

反義詞
  • lucid

    calmly clear, especially after illness or distress

  • articulate

    able to put thoughts into clear words

用法筆記

Frequently predicative — typical patterns are 'be incoherent' or 'become incoherent', often with a cause adverbial (with fear, from pain, after the accident). Distinguish from sense 2 — sense 1 is about a person whose speech fails them, sense 2 is about ideas or writing that lack logical structure.

常見錯誤

❌His angry face was incoherent.
✅His angry shouting was incoherent.
💡incoherent describes speech or the speaker, not silent facial expressions.

2. (of ideas, an argument, a piece of writing, or a plan) made up of parts that do

2.形容詞C1
釋義

(of ideas, an argument, a piece of writing, or a plan) made up of parts that do not fit together or follow each other in a sensible way, so the whole thing fails to make a single clear point.

例句

Gita's first draft was an incoherent mix of family memories and political theory.

attributive: an incoherent mix / collection / collage

Critics called the new transport plan incoherent and impossible to fund.

pattern: call X incoherent (judgement of policy)

同義詞
  • disjointed

    interchangeable in this sense; slightly more about flow than logic

  • inconsistent

    highlights internal contradictions rather than missing connections

  • rambling

    wanders without focus; less severe than incoherent

反義詞
  • coherent

    the direct opposite — ideas fit together logically

  • cohesive

    parts hold together as one unit

用法筆記

Object is typically an abstract noun describing structured thought: argument, plan, policy, essay, plot, strategy. Distinguish from sense 1 — here the speaker may be perfectly calm and articulate, but the ideas themselves do not connect.

常見錯誤

❌The desk was incoherent with papers.
✅The desk was chaotic with papers.
💡incoherent is about ideas or arguments not fitting together, not physical messiness.