Meaning & use
contemporary culture
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Meanings
noununcountable
the art, ideas, customs, and media that are shared by people living now.
Grammar: No article and no plural: contemporary culture, not a contemporary culture or contemporary cultures.
Patterns
- in contemporary culture
- a feature of contemporary culture
- contemporary culture and society
Social media influencers have become a major force in contemporary culture.
The course examines how contemporary culture shapes the way young people talk about identity.
Her novels are seen as a sharp commentary on contemporary culture.
nouncountabletechnical
the way of life of a particular group of people living at the same time as another group.
Grammar: Countable here: you can talk about one contemporary culture or several contemporary cultures.
Patterns
- a contemporary culture
- contemporary cultures
The museum compares ancient Egyptian beliefs with contemporary cultures in the same region.
Anthropologists study how a contemporary culture adapts old rituals to modern life.
Common combinations
- a feature of contemporary culture
- Reality television is often called a feature of contemporary culture.
- contemporary culture and society
- The lecture series is about contemporary culture and society.
- in contemporary culture
- Memes play a big role in contemporary culture.
- a reflection of contemporary culture
- The film is a reflection of contemporary culture in big cities.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modern culture
- Very close in meaning, but 'modern' often suggests a break with tradition, while 'contemporary' simply means 'of today'.
- popular culture
- Narrower: it refers mainly to entertainment and things many ordinary people enjoy, not to all shared ideas and customs.
- the zeitgeist
- More literary and abstract: it means the general mood or spirit of a period, not the culture itself.
Opposites
Word family
- contemporary adjective
- Belonging to the present time; also means 'living or happening at the same time'.
- cultural adjective
- Relating to culture: cultural differences, cultural history.
- culturally adverb
- In a way that relates to culture: culturally important.
Commonly confused: contemporary culture or modern culture?
contemporary culture vs modern culture
'Modern' can mean the period since about 1500 or a style that rejects tradition; 'contemporary' means only the present time.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'contemporary culture' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Contemporary culture' is usually uncountable and refers to the shared culture of today, so 'an important part of contemporary culture' is correct. Option 1 wrongly adds 'a' for the general sense; option 2 uses a plural verb with an uncountable noun; option 4 is contradictory because the 1800s are not contemporary.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contemporary culture”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.