CONTEMPORARY Definition & Meaning

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contemporary

[kuhn-tem-puh-rer-ee]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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.
Synonyms: , ,
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

contemporaries

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

contemporary

/ ��ə��ˈ��ɛ��ə��ɪ /

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

noun

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

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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

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

contemporarily adverb
contemporariness noun
noncontemporary adjective
postcontemporary adjective
ultracontemporary adjective
uncontemporary adjective
��ǲ�ˈ�ٱ𳾱�ǰ�� adverb
��ǲ�ˈ�ٱ𳾱�ǰ��Ա�� noun

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of contemporary¹

First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin ��ǲԳٱ𳾱�ǰ��ܲ�, equivalent to Latin con- con- ( def. ) + tempor- (stem of tempus “t��”; temporal ¹ ( def. ) ) + -��ܲ� -ary ( def. )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of contemporary¹

C17: from Medieval Latin ��ǲԳٱ𳾱�ǰ��ܲ�, from Latin com- together + �ٱ𳾱�ǰ��ܲ� relating to time, from tempus time

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Synonym Study

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.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

They are powerless to the pull of memory, yet paralyzed by their contemporary comforts.

From

The previous country album category has been renamed contemporary country album.

From

“So we did contemporary things with this music, but it wasn‘t so contemporary that there was no place for a Julian Priester.

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The London office where much of “The Agency” takes place captures the contradictions of this contemporary espionage drama.

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She spoke to the museum director about how some of the historic textiles on show could still look contemporary.

From

Related 51�Թ�s

new��
present-day��

contemporaneously contemporize

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