contemporaneous

adjective

con·​tem·​po·​ra·​ne·​ous kən-ˌtem-pə-ˈrā-nē-əs 

: existing, occurring, or originating during the same time

social and political events that were contemporaneous with each other

contemporaneously adverb

contemporaneousness noun

Synonyms

• concurrent
• synchronous
• synchronic
• coincident
• contemporary
• simultaneous
• coincidental

Choose the Right Synonym for contemporaneous

contemporary, contemporaneous, coeval, synchronous, simultaneous, coincident mean existing or occurring at the same time.

contemporary is likely to apply to people and what relates to them.

Abraham Lincoln was contemporary with Charles Darwin

contemporaneous is more often applied to events than to people.

contemporaneous accounts of the kidnapping

coeval refers usually to periods, ages, eras, eons.

two stars thought to be coeval

synchronous implies exact correspondence in time and especially in periodic intervals.

synchronous timepieces

simultaneous implies correspondence in a moment of time.

the two shots were simultaneous

coincident is applied to events and may be used in order to avoid implication of causal relationship.

the end of World War II was coincident with a great vintage year

Examples of contemporaneous in a Sentence

the contemporaneous publication of the two articles

contemporaneous accounts of the battle from officers on both sides

Recent Examples on the Web

Business battles, thus, are only partially about increasing valuations, sales or profit margins, but also about acting as contemporaneous champions of one family and nation. —Radu Magdin, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

But transparency cannot come at the expense of the very people whom the justice system is sworn to protect—particularly amid contemporaneous events that magnify risk and trauma. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2025

The investigation team, which interviewed 78 witnesses and reviewed contemporaneous documents and unedited program footage, substantiated 45 of the allegations — just over half of those made. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2025

One-year inflation swap rates one year from now (July 2026 to July 2027 inflation expectations) remain well below the contemporaneous headline numbers, a sign that, for now, longer-term inflation expectations by investors are well contained. —Bob Haber, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin contemporāneus, from Latin con- con- + tempor-, tempus "time" + -āneus, compound suffix formed from -ānus -an entry 2 + -eus -eous — more at -eous

Note: The Latin word contemporāneus occurs as a noun in the sense "contemporary" in a chapter heading of Aulus Gellius's Noctes Atticae (19.14), though these headings are most likely a post-classical interpolation. The word is otherwise not attested before the early Middle Ages.

First Known Use

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for contemporaneous

• extemporaneous
• intracutaneous
• mucocutaneous
• extraneous
• spontaneous
• lanius
• miscellaneous
• percutaneous
• simultaneous
• subcutaneous
• subterraneous
• transcutaneous

Kids Definition

contemporaneous

adjective

con·​tem·​po·​ra·​ne·​ous kən-ˌtem-pə-ˈrā-nē-əs 

: existing, occurring, or beginning during the same time

contemporaneously adverb

contemporaneousness noun