cogent means reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cogent ranks #10,402 of 17,140 for The Improbable, #13,047 of 17,111 for Most Sublime Words, #13,077 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say, #14,429 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words.
cogent is pronounced /ˈkəʊd͡ʒn̩t/.
Why “cogent” is a great word
Clear, logical, and convincing, especially in a way that compels intellectual assent. From the Latin cōgēns, present participle of cōgere ("to drive or force together, compel"), from cō- ("together") + agere ("to drive"). First attested in English in the 1650s. Unlike "persuasive," which can sway by emotion or rhetoric, or "relevant," which merely connects to the subject, "cogent" describes an argument whose internal architecture is so flawless it feels inevitable. It is the clean strike of a blade through a rope, the dismantling of a counterpoint with a single, measured fact, or the sudden alignment of gears when a mechanism finally clicks—clarity not as decoration, but as a form of compulsion, the argument that leaves no retreat because it has already gathered all the necessary pieces and driven them home.
Etymology
From French cogent, from Latin cōgēns, present active participle of cōgō (“drive together, compel”), from cō + agō (“drive”).
adj
- Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.e.g.“We congratulate our correspondents on some very cogent reasoning, and shall have to watch our step even more carefully in future!”
- Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning.
- Forcefully persuasive; relevant, pertinent.e.g.“The prosecution presented a cogent argument, convincing the jury of the defendant's guilt.”
Words closest in meaning
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