Coherence

Research

The quality of an argument or text in which ideas connect logically and build progressively, distinct from surface-level cohesion.

Sources

1. Merriam-Webster — coherence merriam-webster.com accessed 23 September 2026

Merriam-Webster: “the quality or state of cohering”, including “systematic or logical connection or consistency” and “integration of diverse elements, relationships, or values”. From Latin cohaerentia; first recorded circa 1580. The second half of that definition is the one writing guides mean — coherence is not merely the absence of contradiction but the integration of parts, which is why a paper can be internally consistent and still incoherent.

Merriam-Webster is cited as the dictionary of record: where an entry defines a word rather than a position, a dictionary is the primary source for it. The research usage above is this lexicon’s own.

Deeper treatment: this term also has a full entry in the Business Library.

Related terms

• Abbreviation
• Abstract
• Abstraction
• Academic Database
• Analysis
• Annotation

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).