Standard Lemma guide

cohere

verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /kəʊˈhɪə/
  • US: /koʊˈhɪɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: K OW0 HH IH1 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To stick together physically, by adhesion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • Separate molecules will cohere because of electromagnetic force.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To be consistent as part of a group, or by common purpose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, intransitive

Examples

  • Members of the party would cohere in the message they were sending.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The dress clings to her body
  • The label stuck to the box
  • The sushi rice grains cohere

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cling, cleave, adhere, stick

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: touch, adjoin, meet, contact

Narrower terms: mold, conglutinate, agglutinate

4

verb

Meaning 4

have internal elements or parts logically connected so that aesthetic consistency results

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the principles by which societies cohere

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: be

5

verb

Meaning 5

cause to form a united, orderly, and aesthetically consistent whole

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Religion can cohere social groups

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin haereō Latin cohaereōbor. English cohere Borrowed from Latin cohaereō (“cohere, cling (closely) together, harmonise, be consistent (with), be in agreement with”).

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: прилепвам (prilepvam) — to stick together
  • Catalan: cohesionar — to stick together
  • Dutch: samenklitten — to stick together
  • French: s'attirer — to stick together
  • French: attirer — to stick together
  • French: se cohérer — to stick together
  • German: aneinanderhaften — to stick together
  • German: aneinanderkleben — to stick together
  • German: binden — to stick together
  • German: ein Ganzes bilden — to stick together
  • German: eine Einheit bilden — to stick together
  • Latin: cohaereō — to stick together
  • Spanish: cohesionar — to stick together
  • Turkish: birbirine yapışmak — to stick together
  • Turkish: birbirini tutmak — to stick together
  • Bulgarian: съгласувам се (sǎglasuvam se) — to be consistent as part of a group
  • German: in sich geschlossen sein — to be consistent as part of a group
  • German: zusammenhängen — to be consistent as part of a group
  • Spanish: ser coherente — to be consistent as part of a group
  • Turkish: bağlantılı olmak — to be consistent as part of a group
  • Turkish: tutarlı olmak — to be consistent as part of a group
  • Turkish: uyuşmak — to be consistent as part of a group