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cogent

KOH-jent /ˈkoʊ.dʒənt/

adjectiveC1GRESATGMAT

formalacademic

Clear, logical, and convincingly persuasive to the mind.

Used for inductive arguments that are both strong in evidence and built on believable premises. A cogent argument commands intellectual respect.

The story behind the word. From Latin 'cogere' (to drive together or compel), combining 'co-' (together) and 'agere' (to drive). A cogent argument 'drives together' facts so powerfully that your mind is compelled to agree.

Word relationships

compelling: Compelling can rely on emotional drive; cogent emphasizes tight logical structure and intellectual clarity.
persuasive: Persuasive describes the outcome of convincing people; cogent describes the quality of the argument itself.

unconvincing: Lacking force or power to persuade.
specious: Seemingly attractive or true but actually fallacious.

Commonly confused with

sound: 'Sound' applies to deductive arguments; 'cogent' is the equivalent gold-standard term for inductive arguments.

Word family

cogency (noun): The quality of being clear, logical, and convincing.
cogently (adverb): In a clear, logical, and convincing manner.

Collocations

cogent argument
cogent reason
cogent evidence
highly cogent

Example sentences

"The attorney presented a cogent argument that convinced the jury beyond a reasonable doubt." Legal Defense
"Without cogent empirical proof, the panel refused to accept the scholar's revolutionary hypothesis." Academic Journal

Memory hook

CO-gent logic CO-mpels your mind to agree. Drives facts together into compelling conviction.

When not to use

Do not use to describe emotional or dramatic appeals that lack logical substance; cogency requires intellectual rigor.

Fun facts

The root 'cogere' also gave us the word 'cogent' and 'coagulate'—both involve driving things together into a solid form!