English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From the Latin cohaereō (cohere, cling (closely) together, harmonise, be consistent (with), be in agreement with).

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /kəʊˈhɪə/
  • (US) IPA(key): /koʊˈhɪɚ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Verb

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cohere (third-person singular simple present coheres, present participle cohering, simple past and past participle cohered)

  1. (intransitive) To stick together physically, by adhesion.
    Separate molecules will cohere because of electromagnetic force.
    • 2018 July 19, Zoe Williams, “Can ditching meat and dairy open up new taste sensations? My week as a foodie vegan”, in The Guardian[1]:
      Nothing coheres the way you expect. Substances float around each other until you crush them all with a blender.
  2. (intransitive, figurative) To be consistent as part of a group, or by common purpose.
    Members of the party would cohere in the message they were sending.
    • 1878 January–December, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native [], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., [], published 1878, →OCLC:
      That dream of beautiful Paris was not likely to cohere into substance in the presence of this misfortune.
    • 2024 April 15, Charles Hugh Smith, Financial Forecast 2025-2032: Please Don't Be Naive[2]:
      A system that degrades but coheres is a far better place to live than a system that completely collapses.
  3. (transitive, figurative) To be consistent as part of a group, or by common purpose.
    • 2022 October 2, Nicholas Carl, Kitaneh Fitzpatrick, Zachary Coles, and Frederick W. Kagan, “Iran Crisis Update, October 2”, in Iran Project[3], Institute for the Study of War:
      This division suggests that Khamenei is not playing his usual role of cohering the regime during a crisis.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Anagrams

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Latin

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Verb

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cohērē

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of cohēreō