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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

contemporary en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /kənˈtɛm.pəˌɹɛɹ.i/ (General-American)
  • (Texas) audio
  • /kənˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹə.ɹi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • audio
  • /kənˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹi/ (Received-Pronunciation, informal)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin contemporārius, from Latin con- (“with, together”) + temporārius, an adjective derived from tempus (“time”).

Meanings

  1. From the same time period, coexistent in time; contemporaneous.
    • A neighb'ring Wood born with himself he sees, / And loves his old contemporary trees. a. 1667, Abraham Cowley, Claudian's Old Man of Verona^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Essays_(Cowley)/The_Dangers_of_an_Honest_Man_in_much_Company#Section23):
    • As this King [Henry VIII] vvas contemporary vvith the greateſt Monarchs of Europe, viz. the Emperor, the Kings of Spain and France, ſo he vvas engaged in many VVars, and in divers Leagues and Pacifications vvith them or either of them; for the better conſulting the Peace of Mankind. 1721, John Strype, “A Notable Book Came Forth, Called, ’’A Supplication of the Poor Commons to the King’’; Shewing the Late State of the Kingdom. […]”, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It: Shewing the Various Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry the Eighth. […], volume I, London: […] John Wyat, […], →OCLC, page 407:
  2. Modern, of the present age (shorthand for ‘contemporary with the present’).
    • We live our lives in three dimensions for our threescore and ten allotted years. Yet every branch of contemporary science, from statistics to cosmology, alludes to processes that operate on scales outside of human experience: the millisecond and the nanometer, the eon and the light-year. 2012 January 14, Robert L. Dorit, “Rereading Darwin”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2012, page 23:
    • Men In Black 3 finagles its way out of this predicament by literally resetting the clock with a time-travel premise that makes Will Smith both a contemporary intergalactic cop in the late 1960s and a stranger to Josh Brolin, who plays the younger version of Smith’s stone-faced future partner, Tommy Lee Jones. 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2012:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
more contemporary Degree=Cmp lexicographic
most contemporary Degree=Sup lexicographic

Antonyms

archaic · anachronistic · uncontemporary · noncontemporary · coming

Deriveds

contemporariness · ultracontemporary · contemporary R&B · uncontemporary · penecontemporary · rhythmic contemporary · noncontemporary · adult contemporary · urban contemporary · hot adult contemporary · contemporarily · contemporize · contemporary circus · precontemporary · contemporary gospel

Hypernyms

coexistent

Relateds

penecontemporary · present

Synonyms

cotemporaneous · present-day · coeval · hodiern · contemporary · contemporary · cotemporal · coetaneous · current · de nos jours · modern · modern · coetaneous · present · coincident · coeval · contemporaneous · contemporaneous · current

Translations (143)

tl kapanahon (modern) · sh са̀времен (modern) · cs současný (modern) · tl kasalukuyan (modern) · id kontemporer (modern) · ja 近代的な (modern) · it coetaneo (from the same time period) · cs moderní (modern) · uk суча́сний (modern) · de modern (modern) · te సమకాలీన (from the same time period) · sh су̀времен (modern) · de zeitgenössisch (modern) · sh са̀времен (from the same time period) · fi samanaikainen (from the same time period) · fi nykyaikainen (modern) · fi moderni (modern) · sk vtedajší (from the same time period) · az müasir (modern) · nb samtids- (modern) · fr contemporain (from the same time period) · sh су̀времен (from the same time period) · de zeitnah (modern) · pt contemporâneo (modern) · la aequālis (from the same time period) · mk современ (from the same time period) · fi samanikäinen (from the same time period) · fa نوین (modern) · bg съвреме́нен (modern) · fi nyky- (modern) · tl alinsabay (from the same time period) · it contemporaneo (from the same time period) · sk moderný (modern) · bg едновременен (from the same time period) · cmn 同時的 /同时的 (from the same time period) · az çağdaş (modern) · grc σύγχρονος (from the same time period) · es coetáneo (from the same time period) · he בֶּן זְמַנֵּנוּ (modern) · gl contemporáneo (from the same time period) · az çağdaş (from the same time period) · uk суча́сний (from the same time period) · la coaevālis (from the same time period) · gd co-aimsireil (from the same time period) · ga nua-aimseartha (modern) · ko 현대적 (from the same time period) · pl nowoczesny (modern) · sk súdobý (from the same time period) · kk заманауи (modern) · pl współczesny (modern) · sh sùvremen (from the same time period) · ja 同時代の (from the same time period) · it coevo (from the same time period) · be суча́сны (modern) · ar مُعَاصِر (modern) · nl hedendaags (modern) · he בן דור (from the same time period) · ml സമകാലിക (modern) · es contemporario (from the same time period) · ms sezaman (from the same time period) · gv co-emshiragh (from the same time period) · he עֲכְשָׁוִי (modern) · ru совреме́нный (modern) · ru совреме́нный (from the same time period) · gd co-aimsireil (modern) · da nutids- (modern) · tr çağcıl (modern) · hy ժամանակակից (from the same time period) · fa معاصر (from the same time period) · hi समकालीन (from the same time period) · be суча́сны (from the same time period) · hu kortárs (from the same time period) · es coetáneo (modern) · it contemporaneo (modern) · cmn 現代的 /现代的 (modern) · mk модерен (modern) · bg моде́рен (modern) · nl eigentijds (modern) · sh sàvremen (from the same time period) · ar عَصْرِيّّ (modern) · sq bashkëkohor (from the same time period) · ko 현대적 (modern) · ca contemporani (modern) · nl gelijktijdig (from the same time period) · ka თანამედროვე (modern) · tr çağdaş (from the same time period) · ja 現代的な (modern) · tr modern (modern) · lt šiuolaikinis (from the same time period) · sl sodoben (modern) · sv nutida (modern) · tl kapanahon (from the same time period) · ga comhaosta (from the same time period) · cs současný (from the same time period) · sh sàvremen (modern) · nl eigentijds (from the same time period) · fr contemporain (modern) · nb samtidig (from the same time period) · cmn 近代的 (modern) · sk súčasný (modern) · ka თანამედროვე (from the same time period) · vi hiện đại (modern) · cy cyfoes (from the same time period) · sl sodoben (from the same time period) · pl ówczesny (from the same time period) · de zeitgenössisch (from the same time period) · es contemporáneo (modern) · da samtidig (from the same time period) · hu jelenkori (modern) · es contemporario (modern) · sk súčasný (from the same time period) · hi समसामयिक (from the same time period) · tr çağcıl (from the same time period) · ja モダンな (modern) · pt contemporâneo (from the same time period) · da moderne (modern) · hi समकक्ष (from the same time period) · sk dobový (from the same time period) · hy ժամանակակից (modern) · sh mȍdēran (modern) · sh sùvremen (modern) · mk современ (modern) · bg съвреме́нен (from the same time period) · tr zamandaş (modern) · izh nykyaikain (modern) · cmn 摩登 (modern) · hu kortárs (modern) · nl contemporain (from the same time period) · nn samtidig (from the same time period) · ca contemporani (from the same time period) · sv samtida (from the same time period) · ro contemporan (modern) · sl moderen (modern) · sh мо̏де̄ран (modern) · ro contemporan (from the same time period) · pt moderno (modern) · mi onāianei (modern) · vi hiện đại (from the same time period) · az müasir (from the same time period) · ms kontemporari (modern) · ar حَدِيث (modern) · ar مُعَاصِر (from the same time period) · cmn 當時的 /当时的 (from the same time period)

contemporary en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /kənˈtɛm.pəˌɹɛɹ.i/ (General-American)
  • (Texas) audio
  • /kənˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹə.ɹi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • audio
  • /kənˈtɛm.p(ə.)ɹi/ (Received-Pronunciation, informal)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin contemporārius, from Latin con- (“with, together”) + temporārius, an adjective derived from tempus (“time”).

Meanings

  1. Someone or something belonging to the same time period (as someone or something else)
    • Thinking more metaphorically, his American contemporary James Russell Lowell wrote: “It is not the insurrections of ignorance that are dangerous, but the revolts of intelligence.” Had he lived to the year 2021, he might have changed his mind. 2021 January 13, Steven Poole, “'Insurrection': how an old word for an old thing was Trumped”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2021:
    • The early mammals inherited the earth by surviving their saurian contemporaries.
    • Life is predicated by the decisions and choices we make – and, earlier this year, the personal fused with the professional again as Mata reached the landmark moment when he knew he had to try to harness football’s power for the benefit of people less fortunate than him and his contemporaries. 2018 January 1, Donald McRae, “The Guardian footballer of the year 2017: Juan Mata”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2018:
    • Cervantes was a contemporary of Shakespeare.
    • More than most of her contemporaries on “LeftTube,” [Contrapoints] has a style; her editorial signature is an unmistakably ornate flourish. 2018 August 24, Katherine Cross, “The Oscar Wilde of YouTube fights the alt-right with decadence and seduction”, in The Verge (news), Vox, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2023:
  2. Something existing at the same time.
  3. (dated) Something existing at the same time. ▸ A rival newspaper or magazine.
    • Annexation therefore was inevitable; but (as I have said above) it was not necessarily of prime importance in our national policy, and there has been no need to exaggerate—as I fear many of our contemporaries have exaggerated— […] 1900, The Speaker, the Liberal Review, volume 2, page 621:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
contemporaries Number=Plur lexicographic

Translations (38)

ka თანამედროვე (someone living at the same time) · az müasir (someone living at the same time) · bg съвреме́нница (someone living at the same time) · az çağdaş (someone living at the same time) · de Zeitgenosse (someone living at the same time) · ro contemporan (someone living at the same time) · fr contemporain (someone living at the same time) · cs současnice (someone living at the same time) · tr çağdaş (someone living at the same time) · hy ժամանակակից (someone living at the same time) · it contemporaneo (someone living at the same time) · tr çağcıl (someone living at the same time) · nl tijdgenoot (someone living at the same time) · gd comhaois (someone living at the same time) · nl tijdgenote (someone living at the same time) · ru совреме́нник (someone living at the same time) · is samtíðarmaður (someone living at the same time) · el σύγχρονο (someone living at the same time) · ru совреме́нница (someone living at the same time) · cs současník (someone living at the same time) · az həməsr (someone living at the same time) · kmr hevçax (someone living at the same time) · pt contemporâneo (someone living at the same time) · ga comhaois (someone living at the same time) · bg съвреме́нник (someone living at the same time) · hu kortárs (someone living at the same time) · es contemporáneo (someone living at the same time) · is jafnaldri (someone living at the same time) · de Zeitgenossin (someone living at the same time) · grc σύγχρονος (someone living at the same time) · uk сучасник (someone living at the same time) · uk сучасниця (someone living at the same time) · ms sezaman (someone living at the same time) · mk современик (someone living at the same time) · fi aikalainen (someone living at the same time) · ca contemporani (someone living at the same time) · tl kapanahon (someone living at the same time) · ky замандаш (someone living at the same time)