English for Students

Difficult Words : Clique, Cliche, Coalesce, Coerce, Cogent and Cognitive

Difficult Words ( Clique, Cliche, Coalesce, Coerce, Cogent and Cognitive ) and their usages have been explained here in detail.

Cliche (Klee SHAY) n: an overused saying or idea

The expression "You can't judge a book by its cover" is a cliche. It's been used so many times. Its freshness has been worn away.

Cliches are usually true. That's why they've been repeated often enough to become overused. But they are boring. A writer who uses a lot of cliches - referring to a foreign country as "a land of contrasts," describing spring as "a time of renewal'" saying that a snowfall is a "blanket of white" - is not interesting to read, because there is nothing new about his observations.

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Clique (klik, kleek) n: an exclusive group bound together by some shared quality or interest.

The high school newspaper staff was a real clique; they all hung out together and wouldn't talk to anyone else. It's hard to have fun at that school if you aren’t member of the right clique

The cheerleaders were cliquish as well. Coalesce (KOH uh LES) v: to come together as one; to fuse; to unite

When the dough coalesced into a big black blob, we began to wonder whether the cookies would be good to eat.

The people in our neighborhood coalesced into a powerful force for change in the community.

A coalition is a group of people that has come to gether for same purpose, often a political one. Coal miners and cola bottlers might coalesce into a collation for the purpose of persuading coal mooned owners to provide cola machines in cola mines.

The southern coalition in Congress is the group of representatives from southern states who often vote the same way.

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Coerce (koh URS) v: to force someone to do or not to do something

Dart Vader tried flattery, Dart Vader tried gifts, Dart Vader even tried to coerce, but Dart Vader was never abler to make Han to reveal the hidden rebel base.Cogent (KOH Junt) adj: powerfully convincing

Cogent reasons are extremely persuasive ones.

Kojak was cogent in explaining why he needed another lollipop, so we gave him one.

The lawyer's argument in his client's behalf was not cogent, so the jury convicted his client.

The jury was persuaded by the cogency of the district attorney’s argument.

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Cognitive (KOG nt tiv) adj: dealing with how we know the world around us through our senses; mental

Scientists study the cognitive apparatus of human beings to pattern how computers should gather information about the world.

Cognition means knowing.

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