contemporary

American  

[kuhn-tem-puh-rer-ee] / kənˈtɛm pəˌrɛr i /

adjective

1. 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.

   Synonyms:

   simultaneous, concurrent, coexistent

2. of about the same age or date.

   a Georgian table with a contemporary wig stand.

3. of the present time; modern.

   a lecture on the contemporary novel.

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noun

plural

contemporaries

1. a person belonging to the same time or period with another or others.

2. a person of the same age as another.

contemporary British  

/ kənˈtɛmprərɪ /

adjective

1. belonging to the same age; living or occurring in the same period of time

2. existing or occurring at the present time

3. conforming to modern or current ideas in style, fashion, design, etc

4. having approximately the same age as one another

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noun

1. a person living at the same time or of approximately the same age as another

2. something that is contemporary

3. journalism a rival newspaper

Usage

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

Related Words

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 Word Forms

• contemporarily adverb
• contemporariness noun
• noncontemporary adjective
• postcontemporary adjective
• ultracontemporary adjective
• uncontemporary adjective

Etymology

Origin of contemporary

First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin contemporārius, equivalent to Latin con- con- ( def. ) + tempor- (stem of tempus “time”; temporal ¹ ( def. ) ) + -ārius -ary ( def. )

Example Sentences

The Core Club became an epicenter of a new era of wealth in New York, outfitted with contemporary art, hotel rooms and a gym.

From The Wall Street Journal

Shakespeare’s play and its title character can be viewed from many perspectives, and one positive aspect of Tata’s production is that it doesn’t turn the play into a lead-footed contemporary political allegory.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nor did scholars ever identify the photographer who deserves credit for creating one of the most singular, if overlooked, portrayals of the pre-White House Lincoln: “Long Abraham” as his contemporaries saw him.

From The Wall Street Journal

She said it reflected what had become a growing personal fascination for her and she now owns work by sculptor Henry Moore and contemporary artist Marc Quinn.

From BBC

This outcome is rare in the contemporary dating scene, but “Heated Rivalry” gratifies the hope that such a future is possible.

From Salon

Related Words

• new
• present-day