Coalesce

verb

To join, develop, or merge with others into a whole
To make different elements come together or intermingle

Usage

Have you ever listened to a single member of an orchestra or band practice a piece? Hearing an individual play a part in isolation might be disconcerting; separated from the other instruments, the notes you hear could sound random or out of place, certainly like nothing resembling a song. But when the musicians come together and the sounds of their instruments combine, a lovely, coherent whole emerges (Most of the time!). Sometimes, when a bunch of individual components coalesce, the result is way better than any one would have been on its own.

Coalesce is a verb which describes the act of merging or coming together. It's most commonly used as an intransitive verb, which means that it doesn't have an object. Things that coalesce join with others to become one singular unit. This usually happens gradually, and it's often piece by piece, like a proposal that grows over time as you come up with and combine new ideas. The components of such a combination often share something similar that predisposes them to unite, but this is far from universal. Things that coalesce might straightforwardly fuse together or blend into a homogeneous mixture; think of the way rainwater and dirt combine to form mud. It may or may not be possible to pick out the individual components, but as long as they're part of one whole, you can say that they've coalesced.

Do you find yourself so eager for things to combine that you wish you could just smoosh them together yourself? Luckily, you can make things coalesce, since the word can also be used transitively (meaning that it applies to an object). Coalesce in this way still means that things unite, but here you or someone else is doing the blending, fusing, or joining. For example, a group of people could coalesce of their own accord, or a charismatic leader could coalesce them by inciting their passions, pointing out a common mission, and offering candy and t-shirts at meetings. Never doubt the power of free stuff to coalesce people!

Example: The inventor flipped through her papers, hoping to coalesce parts of old ideas into a new design.

Example: Her last project had fallen apart after adequate funding had failed to coalesce.

Example: Her true dream was to coalesce with other inventors to work on a cheap, emission-free energy source.

Example: The party leader urged all members to coalesce around the chosen nominee.

Origin

Coalesce means "to grow together," but you know who else needs to grow? Adolescents (to our teen readers: we mean that lovingly). This explains, then, why adolescent and coalesce (as well as the word adult) share an ancestor in the Latin alescere, meaning "to develop as a result of nourishment." Latin speakers would combine alescere with the prefix co-, which indicates "togetherness," in coalescere, meaning "to unify or develop into a single entity." Coalescere, which would also play a role in the development of the English word coalition, is the closest ancestor of the modern coalesce, the first uses of which are attributed to the sixteenth century.

Derivative Words

Coalesces: Because it involves a singular third person subject, this simple present form of coalesce is usually used when someone brings elements together or when something unites with something else.

Example: We watch as the cloud coalesces with its neighbors to form a single, dark-gray thunderhead.

Example: The thunderhead bursts, and the sudden rain coalesces us under a single umbrella.

Coalesced: Coalesced is the preterit of coalesce, used when things came together or were made to come together in the past. As the past participle of coalesce, coalesced can also act as an adjective to characterize things as having merged or as being made up of united elements.

Example: Angry protestors coalesced on the steps of city hall.

Example: Nervous about facing the protestors, the mayor coalesced his thoughts.

Example: To try to win over the coalesced crowd, the mayor had his officials pass out blankets and hot chocolate.

Coalescing: This present progressive form of coalesce is used when things are currently coming together or being made to unite. It can also be used like a noun to refer to the act or condition of merging.

Example: By the time the vinegar and baking soda had stopped coalescing, we were left with a foamy mess.

Example: Who knew that coalescing household products could be so much fun!

Example: We at WinEveryGame take no responsibility for damages caused by the experimental coalescing of common substances.

Coalescence: Like the noun use of coalescing, coalescence refers to the act of uniting or the condition of merging.

Example: Given their years of hostility, Jim and Tina's coalescence into a couple surprised everyone.

Coalescent: This adjective characterizes things as coming together, as having united or as having the tendency of agreeing with each other.

Example: The coalescent beverage of apple and orange juices tasted better than anyone would have expected.

In Literature

From Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon:

There is no greater joy than the burst of solution to a problem. Incredible that anything could happen to take away this bubbling energy, the zest that fills everything I do. It's as if all the knowledge I've soaked in during the past months has coalesced and lifted me to a peak of light and understanding. This is beauty, love, and truth all rolled into one. This is joy.

In this passage, the character Charlie Gordon reflects on the happiness that his newfound intelligence grants him, stating that all the things he's learned have come together, or coalesced, into a sense of enlightenment.

Mnemonic

People coalesce into a coalition