Meaning & use
contemporary
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Belonging to the present time or reflecting current styles, issues, and conditions.
Grammar: Often before nouns in art and design: contemporary dance; it can also follow be.
Patterns
- contemporary art
- contemporary design
- contemporary society
- contemporary issues
The gallery shows contemporary art from three continents.
The novel deals with contemporary issues such as migration and debt.
Her apartment mixes antique chairs with contemporary lighting.
adjectiveafter a verb
Existing, living, or occurring during the same period as someone or something else.
Grammar: Usually predicative and followed by with: contemporary with the poet, not present-day.
Patterns
- be contemporary with someone
- contemporary with something
- roughly contemporary
The poet was contemporary with Shakespeare.
These pottery styles are roughly contemporary with the earliest coins.
The manuscript is contemporary with the cathedral's construction.
nouncountable
A person who lives or works during the same period as another person.
Grammar: Takes an or the; plural is contemporaries, often with among or of.
Patterns
- her contemporaries
- among his contemporaries
- a contemporary of someone
Among her contemporaries, she was known for careful field notes.
He was a contemporary of Marie Curie and attended the same conferences.
Many of his contemporaries preferred safer subjects.
Word forms
| plural | contemporaries |
|---|
Common combinations
- contemporary art
- Contemporary art can include video, installation, and performance.
- contemporary dance
- Contemporary dance often blends ballet training with floor work.
- contemporary with
- The letters are contemporary with the expedition.
- among her contemporaries
- Among her contemporaries, she was admired for patient experiments.
- contemporary issues
- The seminar connects classic texts to contemporary issues.
Synonyms and how they differ
- current
- Current means happening now, often temporarily; contemporary can also describe a style or period.
- modern
- Modern can mean recent centuries or a particular style; contemporary is more tied to the present.
- present-day
- Present-day refers to today only; contemporary can mean same-era when used with with.
- contemporaneous
- Contemporaneous is formal and means existing at the same time, not necessarily present-day.
Opposites
Word family
- contemporaneous adjective
- Existing at the same time; more formal than contemporary.
- contemporaneously adverb
- At the same time as something else.
- contemporaneity noun
- The condition of belonging to the same time period.
Commonly confused: contemporary or temporary? contemporary or contemporaneous?
contemporary vs temporary
Temporary means lasting for a limited time; contemporary means present-day or same-era.
contemporary vs contemporaneous
Contemporaneous is more formal and almost always means same period; contemporary can mean current.
Practice
The poet was contemporary ___ Shakespeare.
Choose one answer.
For existing in the same period, use contemporary with. To, of, and by can appear after other adjectives, but not this fixed pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “contemporary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.