cogent

(kō'jənt)
adj.
Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning; convincing: a cogent argument. See synonyms at valid.

[Latin cōgēns, cōgent-, present participle of cōgere, to force : co-, co- + agere, to drive.]

cogency co'gen·cy (-jən-sē) n.
cogently co'gent·ly adv.

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To be cogent, an argument has to persuade or convince; to be coherent (see next entry) it only has to make sense.

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adjective

1. Serving to convince: convincing, persuasive, satisfactory, telling. See persuasion/dissuasion.
2. Based on good judgment, reasoning, or evidence: just, solid, sound, tight, valid, well-founded, well-grounded. See good/bad, reason/unreason.

n

Definition: effectiveness
Antonyms: impotence, ineffectiveness, invalidity, weakness

Appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; compelling; convincing.
The word is frequently used to describe the quality of a particular legal argument. It is derived from the Latin “cogo,” “cogere,” which means “to bind, drive or compress into a mass.” See Oxford Latin Dictionary, Fascicle 11, p. 347. “A forcible argument tells strongly, but may not convince; cogent reasoning is more apt to be conclusive or to compel assent.” 22 N.W. 2d 218, 219.

IN BRIEF: The state of being convincing or pertinent.

The cogency of the speaker was very compelling.

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For a list of words related to cogent, see:

• Intelligent, Informed, Clever, or Articulate
• Wise, Mature, or Experienced
• Reason and Rationale - cogent: (adj) compelling, persuasive; relevant

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See words rhyming with "cogency."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Cogent.

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - overbevisende

Nederlands (Dutch)
overtuigend

Français (French)
adj. - convaincant

Deutsch (German)
adj. - überzeugend, stichhaltig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - (για επιχειρήματα κ.λπ.) αδιαφιλονίκητος, ακαταμάχητος, αδιάσειστος, πειστικός

Italiano (Italian)
convincente, persuasivo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - convincente

Русский (Russian)
убедительный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - fuerte, convincente, poderoso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - bindande, kraftig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
使人首肯的, 切实的, 使人信服的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 使人首肯的, 切實的, 使人信服的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 설득력 있는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 説得力のある

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مقنع, قاطع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮משכנע, כבד-משקל‬

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