Meaning & use
temporal proximity
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Meanings
noununcountable
The nearness of two events to each other in time.
Grammar: Uncountable; often followed by between or of: the temporal proximity between the two events.
Patterns
- temporal proximity between X and Y
- in close temporal proximity
The temporal proximity between the vaccine and her fever worried her, though doctors found another cause.
Investigators noted the temporal proximity of the two break-ins.
Memories formed in close temporal proximity are often linked in the mind.
noununcountablelaw
In employment law, the short gap between an employee's complaint and a punishment such as dismissal, used as evidence of retaliation.
Grammar: Used as a legal term, often with evidence or inference.
Patterns
- rely on temporal proximity
The lawyer argued that the temporal proximity between her complaint and firing showed retaliation.
Courts often accept temporal proximity as a starting point but ask for more.
Temporal proximity alone rarely wins such a case.
Common combinations
- close temporal proximity
- The two storms struck in close temporal proximity.
- temporal proximity between
- The temporal proximity between the events was striking.
- establish temporal proximity
- The claimant had to establish temporal proximity.
- evidence of temporal proximity
- The judge asked for evidence beyond temporal proximity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- closeness in time
- This is a plain-English version, better for general readers than the technical phrase.
- timing
- Timing is much broader and informal, often meaning the moment something happens rather than a gap.
- contiguity
- Contiguity is a technical term used in psychology for events touching or following in space or time.
Opposites
Word family
- temporal adjective
- relating to time
- proximity noun
- nearness
- proximate adjective
- nearest or immediate
- temporally adverb
- in terms of time
Commonly confused: temporal proximity or spatial proximity?
temporal proximity vs spatial proximity
Spatial proximity is nearness in space, while temporal proximity is nearness in time.
Practice
The two reports arrived only minutes apart, and the editor noticed their ____ proximity.
Choose one answer.
Temporal proximity means closeness in time, which fits arriving minutes apart. Spatial would concern physical distance.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “temporal proximity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.