INCOHERENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does incoherence mean? 

• INCOHERENCE (noun)
  The noun INCOHERENCE has 2 senses:

1. lack of cohesion or clarity or organization

2. nonsense that is simply incoherent and unintelligible

  Familiarity information: INCOHERENCE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INCOHERENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lack of cohesion or clarity or organization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

incoherence; incoherency

Hypernyms ("incoherence" is a kind of...):

disconnectedness; disconnection; disjunction; disjuncture (state of being disconnected)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "incoherence"):

disjointedness (lacking order or coherence)

Antonym:

coherence (the state of cohering or sticking together)

Derivation:

incoherent (without logical or meaningful connection)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Nonsense that is simply incoherent and unintelligible

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

incoherence; incoherency; unintelligibility

Hypernyms ("incoherence" is a kind of...):

bunk; hokum; meaninglessness; nonsense; nonsensicality (a message that seems to convey no meaning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "incoherence"):

word salad (jumble of incoherent speech as sometimes heard in schizophrenia)

Derivation:

incoherent (without logical or meaningful connection)

 Context examples 

This she did not comprehend, attributing her incomprehension to his incoherence.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

A type of schizophrenia characterized by frequent incoherence; marked loosening of associations, or grossly disorganized behavior and flat or grossly inappropriate affect that does not meet the criteria for the catatonic type; associated features include extreme social withdrawal, grimacing, mannerisms, mirror gazing, inappropriate giggling, and other odd behavior.

(Disorganized Type Schizophrenia, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)