coeval
Americanadjective
-
of the same age, date, or duration; equally old.
Analysis has proved that this manuscript is coeval with that one.
-
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were only approximately coeval.
noun
adjective
noun
Synonym Usage
See contemporary.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of coeval
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Late Latin coaev(us) (equivalent to co- “with, together” + -aevus, adjective derivative of aevum “age”) + -al adjective suffix; see co-, -al 1
Explanation
When two things live or happen during the same period of time, they are coeval. If you annotate an old poem, the annotations and the text of the poem are not coeval. The word coeval comes from the Latin co- "jointly" or "in common" and aevum "age." The beginning of Major League Baseball is coeval with the invention of the telephone. People can be coeval, though more often you'll hear contemporary used to describe people who are about the same age. You and your contemporaries probably view the world a lot differently than your grandparents' generation.
Vocabulary lists containing coeval
Ides, Eon, Epoch, and Era: Time-related Words
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"The Declaration of Sentiments" (1848)
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 10
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This approach examines only supernovae from young, coeval galaxies -- those with stars of similar ages -- across the entire redshift range.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2025
He died at 94, his life nearly coeval with the 20th century.
From New York Times ● Nov. 19, 2018
That’s what Deford was thinking about thirty years ago, when he wrote about Gus Johnson, Deford’s own preferred sporting coeval.
From The New Yorker ● May 30, 2017
Martin Scorsese, Spielberg’s coeval and the director of roughly the same number of films, has helped five actors to Oscars.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2012
According to the Brahmans, they are coeval with the creation, and the Sama-Veda says, “They were formed of the soul of Him who exists by, or of, himself.”
From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Westbrook, Richard B.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
