contemporaneous
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See contemporary.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of contemporaneous
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin contemporāneus, equivalent to con- con- + tempor- (stem of tempus “time”) + -āneus ( -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous )
Explanation
If you're born on the same day as your friend, you've got a contemporaneous birthday, or one that happens in the same period of time. Contemporaneous comes from the Latin prefix con- meaning "together with" and temporaneus, meaning "time." Two contemporaneous events happen together in time. Richard Nixon's presidency and the first man on the moon are contemporaneous — both happened at the same period of time in history.
Vocabulary lists containing contemporaneous
Ides, Eon, Epoch, and Era: Time-related Words
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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This Week in Words: April 14 - 20, 2018
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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.
“In all our dealings with Mr. Sanberg, both directly and through his counsel, he provided information that was consistent with our review of contemporaneous documents and other evidence,” wrote Dave Anders of Wachtell Lipton.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
She was contemporaneous with Free to Be You and Me, which she contributed a written piece to the book version of Free to Be You and Me..
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
"She's a diplomat, not a D-list celebrity. My 15-year-old, social media obsessed, brother is less shameless in his self-promotion," reads some contemporaneous testimony.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
Key reports on inflation and jobs from October and November will be released, along with more contemporaneous reports.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 6, 2025
The deep antiquity of the Babylonian tradition is somewhat exaggerated, however: their most impressive work in mathematical astronomy dates after 300, roughly contemporaneous with developments in the Hellenistic world.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
