All 4 Uses of
coherent
in
The Phantom of the Opera
- I fell back against the wall and he came up to me, grinding his teeth, and, as I fell upon my knees, he hissed mad, incoherent words and curses at me.†
Chpt 12 *incoherent = not sensible or clear; or describing parts as not fitting together in a consistent or pleasing mannerstandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in incoherent means not and reverses the meaning of coherent. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
- It was evident, also, that Mr. Commissary Mifroid shared their view; and the magistrate would certainly have cut short the incoherent narrative if circumstances had not taken it upon themselves to interrupt it.†
Chpt 18
- But I had first to calm M. de Chagny, who was already walking about like a madman, uttering incoherent cries.†
Chpt 24
- He looked at me as if I were the devil and answered only in a few incoherent sentences, which showed, however—and that was the main thing—the extent of the perturbation which O. G., in his time, had brought into that already very restless life (for M. Poligny was what people call a man of pleasure).†
Chpt Epil.
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.