contemporary

[ kuhn-tem-puh-rer-ee ]

See synonyms for: contemporary contemporaries on Thesaurus.com

adjective

existing, occurring, or living at the same time; belonging to the same time: Newton's discovery of the calculus was contemporary with that of Leibniz.
of about the same age or date: a Georgian table with a contemporary wig stand.

of the present time; modern: a lecture on the contemporary novel.

noun,plural con·tem·po·rar·ies.

a person belonging to the same time or period with another or others.
a person of the same age as another.

Origin of contemporary

First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin contemporārius, equivalent to Latin con- con- + tempor- (stem of tempus “time”; cf. temporal¹) + -ārius -ary

synonym study For contemporary

1. Contemporary, contemporaneous, coeval, coincident all mean happening or existing at the same time. Contemporary often refers to persons or their acts or achievements: Hemingway and Fitzgerald, though contemporary, shared few values. Contemporaneous is applied chiefly to events: the rise of industrialism, contemporaneous with the spread of steam power. Coeval refers either to very long periods of time—an era or an eon—or to remote or long ago times: coeval stars, shining for millenia with equal brilliance; coeval with the dawning of civilization. Coincident means occurring at the same time but without causal or other relationships: prohibition, coincident with the beginning of the 1920s.

Other words for contemporary

1	coexistent, concurrent, simultaneous

See synonyms for contemporary on Thesaurus.com

Other words from contemporary

con·tem·po·rar·i·ly, adverb
con·tem·po·rar·i·ness, noun
non·con·tem·po·rar·y, adjective, noun, plural non·con·tem·po·rar·ies.
post·con·tem·po·rar·y, adjective
ul·tra·con·tem·po·rar·y, adjective, noun, plural ul·tra·con·tem·po·rar·ies.
un·con·tem·po·rar·y, adjective

Words that may be confused with contemporary

contemporary , contemporaneous (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contemporary in a sentence

What sets him apart from so many of his contemporaries was his rare immunity from the influence of prevailing ideas.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler | John Henry Crosby | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Some of the authors most revered by their contemporaries now languish in relative obscurity.
The Birth of the Novel | Nick Romeo | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Fans of Virginia Woolf may enjoy the following list of books written by her less famous female contemporaries.
These Female Contemporaries Weren’t Afraid of Virginia Woolf | Louisa Treger | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Cummings, however, has proven far more controversial and arguably less palatable than her contemporaries.
Why Whitney Cummings’ Dick Jokes Are Important | Kevin Fallon | June 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Their laptop-less contemporaries may also get distracted by what their friends are looking at.
Is It Time for a Classroom Cellphone Ban? | Charlotte Lytton | June 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

His letters are simply laughable, especially his characters of contemporaries.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
Map and Chrétien were certainly contemporaries, but in neither case do we know the date of birth.
The Three Days' Tournament | Jessie L. Weston
The proofs you have given so far are but solemn pledges to outdo all your contemporaries.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste Tchaikovsky
If his book is bad for our times and for us, it was very good for his contemporaries, and his religion was still better.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
We should always aim at perfection, and then posterity will do us that justice which sometimes our contemporaries refuse us.
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre | Jean de La Bruyre

British Dictionary definitions for contemporary

contemporary

/ (kənˈtɛmprərɪ) /

adjective

belonging to the same age; living or occurring in the same period of time
existing or occurring at the present time

conforming to modern or current ideas in style, fashion, design, etc
having approximately the same age as one another

nounplural -raries

a person living at the same time or of approximately the same age as another
something that is contemporary

journalism a rival newspaper

Origin of contemporary

C17: from Medieval Latin contemporārius, from Latin com- together + temporārius relating to time, from tempus time

usage For contemporary

Since contemporary can mean either of the same period or of the present period, it is best to avoid this word where ambiguity might arise, as in a production of Othello in contemporary dress. Modern dress or Elizabethan dress should be used in this example to avoid ambiguity

Derived forms of contemporary

contemporarily, adverb
contemporariness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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