The word coherent

[sisoruen]

I just wonder if the word coherent can be used in the below example:

If a stupid person acts stupidly then his actions are coherent with who he is - a stupid person.

[emsr2d2]

I just wonder if the word coherent can be used in the below example:

If a stupid person acts stupidly then his actions are coherent with who he is - a stupid person.

No, coherent means understandable or comprehensible. His actions might be understandable "considering who he is" but not "with who he is".

Simply, we don't use coherent in this way.

[sisoruen]

No, coherent means understandable or comprehensible. His actions might be understandable "considering who he is" but not "with who he is".

Simply, we don't use coherent in this way.

Thank you for the answer but how about under this definition which I found on the merriam-webster website:

1 a : logically or aesthetically ordered or integrated : consistent <coherent style> <a coherent argument>

I also found two examples of the use of the word coherent. Is the word wrongly used also here?

His work is an instant revelation, a reflection of the most personal concerns that he always felt with intensity, never crushed by swindles with money and always coherent with his convictions.

and:

All users produced designs that were internally coherent with both layout and navigational elements.

[SoothingDave]

You could say "consistent with who he is."

[sisoruen]

You could say "consistent with who he is."

Yes, but doesn't the word coherent in that context mean exactly that - consistent? Because here I am translating from my language (Slovene) and in my language the word coherent is koherenten . So, for example let me make a sentence in my language:

Prvi del trditve ni koherenten z drugim.

A literal translation here would be:

The first part of the claim is not coherent with the second part.

Also in this case I could indeed use the word consistent which in my language is konsistenten and the meaning would remain the same. Which means in this case the two words are basically synonyms.

[SoothingDave]

"Coherent" is perfectly fine in the two examples from the dictionary that you cite. I would not use it when talking about a person being consistent with himself.

[sisoruen]

"Coherent" is perfectly fine in the two examples from the dictionary that you cite. I would not use it when talking about a person being consistent with himself.

But if you are refering to this sentence:

His work is an instant revelation, a reflection of the most personal concerns that he always felt with intensity, never crushed by swindles with money and always coherent with his convictions.

Then saying coherent with his convictions also means coherent with himself since his convictions are also "himself" right?

Also I found examples used in articles like:

In so doing he has been above all coherent with himself and his vision of the United States and its history and culture.

Or:

And yet the deficiency of the accord between the Koranic references and the Bible stories themselves show that Mohammed was not consistent (coherent) with himself.

In this case is also clear that the author considered the words consistent and coherent quite similar if not the same.

Or:

Kane is a like a real person, always coherent with himself, but never banal or predictable:

Or:

And, when we reach that farther shore, we discover a man who is sensitive and honest, coherent with himself and with the world around him.

So, now I am quite confused.

[SoothingDave]

Your examples show coherency with "himself" and something else. That is different.

I am not saying using "coherent" is wrong. But it is more common to use "consistent."

[sisoruen]

Your examples show coherency with "himself" and something else. That is different.

I am not saying using "coherent" is wrong. But it is more common to use "consistent."

ok, thanks, I got it.

[Barb_D]

If I read "coherant" there, I'd think it was a wrong word choice. Yes, you found it in the dictionary. But I've never read it used like that or considered using it that way myself.

I would use "consistent."