cogency

C3O1G2E1N1C3Y4
/ˈkəʊd͡ʒənsi/

noun

The state of being cogent; the characteristic or quality of being reasonable and persuasive.

RareScrabble 15

Meanings

nouncogency (countable and uncountable, plural cogencies)

plural cogencies

  1. countableuncountableThe state of being cogent; the characteristic or quality of being reasonable and persuasive.

    All the enchantment of fancy, and all the cogency of argument, are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest.

    1781, Samuel Johnson, “Addison”, in Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets, volume 5, London: J. Nichols, page 156
    1 more example

    A philosophic study of the development of philosophies should be content to seek out the bases and cogencies of philosophies rather than engage upon a nostalgic search for sympathetic doctrines.

    1928 Oct, Richard McKeon, “Thomas Aquinas' Doctrine of Knowledge and Its Historical Setting”, in Speculum, volume 3, number 4, page 444

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe quality of being valid and rigorous

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

cogency. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cogency

MLA

“cogency.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cogency. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cogency,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cogency.

Source: cogency on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.