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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “incoherent”

“incoherent” is pronounced /ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪɹənt/ (in-koh-HI-ruhnt) in American English and /ɪŋkəʊhiəɹənt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “er”.
The sound

Say “incoherent” in 4 beats

Say it like this

incoherent

/ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪɹənt/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɪŋkəʊhiəɹənt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. inɪn
  2. cohkoʊ
  3. erhɪstress
  4. entɹənt
IPA (American)
/ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪɹənt/
IPA (British)
/ɪŋkəʊhiəɹənt/
Respelling
in-koh-HI-ruhnt
Syllables
4 — in-coh-ER-ent
Stress
Stress the third syllable: in-coh-ER-ent. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪɹənt/

British

/ɪŋkəʊhiəɹənt/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “incoherent” means

  1. adjective

    without logical or meaningful connection

    “a turgid incoherent presentation”

  2. adjective

    (physics) of waves having no stable definite or stable phase relation

  3. adjective

    unable to express yourself clearly or fluently

    “felt tongue-tied with embarrassment”

Say it in a sentence

“His message was incoherent, so we rang him straight back.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort i×2nn×2kkoʊlong ohhɹrəschwatt

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“incoherent”, answered

How do you pronounce “incoherent”?

“incoherent” is pronounced /ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪɹənt/ (in-koh-HI-ruhnt) in American English and /ɪŋkəʊhiəɹənt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “er”. Build it as in-coh-ER-ent, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “incoherent” have?

4: in · coh · er · ent. The beat lands on the third, “er”.

Is “incoherent” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪnkoʊˈhɪɹənt/ (in-koh-HI-ruhnt); British English says /ɪŋkəʊhiəɹənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “incoherent” mean?

As an adjective: without logical or meaningful connection For example: “a turgid incoherent presentation” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “incoherent”?

Stress the third syllable: in-coh-ER-ent. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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