Both Uses of
coherent
in
A Tale of Two Cities
- But when he did find spoken words for it, they came to him coherently, though slowly.†
Chpt 1.6 *coherently = in a sensible and clear manner; or in a manner where parts fit together consistently or pleasingly
- Of all these cries, and ten thousand incoherences, "The Prisoners!" was the cry most taken up by the sea that rushed in, as if there were an eternity of people, as well as of time and space.†
Chpt 2.21incoherences = instances of not thinking clearlystandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in incoherences means not and reverses the meaning of coherences. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(coherent) sensible and clear; or describing parts as fitting together in a consistent or pleasing manner
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
A comprehensive dictionary will have more specialized definitions of coherent such as one used in physics.