Definition of CONCOMITANT

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Adjective

Concomitant was introduced into English at a time when many people were criticizing the use of Latinate forms in favor of more "native" words from Old English. As a descendant of Latin concomitari ("to accompany") and ultimately of "comes," the Latin word for companion, "concomitant" may well have been initially derided as an ostentatious inkhorn term. Indeed, two associated words, the verb concomitate, meaning "to accompany," and another adjective, concomitaneous, meaning "of a concomitant nature," didn't survive to accompany "concomitant" into the 18th century.

Examples of concomitant in a Sentence

Adjective

… Christopher Walken delivers his customary edge without any of his clichéd, concomitant weirdness. — Stephen Whitty, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Feb. 1999 The Lincoln and Johnson plans for settling the problems of peace and freedom never seriously touched on the concomitant problem of equality. — John Hope Franklin, "The Two Worlds of Race," 1965, in Race and History, 1989 But it was observed that this pill would be peculiarly bitter to the Southern States, and that some concomitant measure should be adopted to sweeten it a little to them. — Thomas Jefferson 4 Feb. 1818, in Thomas Jefferson: Writings, 1984 The drug's risks increase with the concomitant use of alcohol. an improvement in the facilities led to a concomitant improvement in morale

Noun

In the local bickering which was a concomitant of the grand campaigns of the wars, there may have been considerable fighting around fortifications, even if on a relatively small and brief scale. — Anthony Goodman, The War of the Roses, (1981) 1996 … there is a demand for schools, professional services, and such other concomitants of a full society as courthouses and jails. — Anthony Bailey, New Yorker, 25 May 1987 hunger, a lack of education, and other concomitants of poverty disease is all too often one of the concomitants of poverty

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Tasty stuff can be made with a ton of what gets thrown away, with concomitant money saved (along with trips to the store, and packaging, and …). — Bethany Jean Clement, The Seattle Times, "Food waste, and what to do about it — plus the best recipe for using up stale bread," 2 Oct. 2018 The Supreme Court established that rule in the 1971 case of Harris v. New York, on the grounds that if the defendant could give testimony, the government had the concomitant right to undermine it by whatever information was in its hands. — Aziz Huq, Vox, "The latest Supreme Court decision is being hailed as a big victory for digital privacy. It’s not.," 22 June 2018 Because the prospect of a resume-boosting high test score and the concomitant college credit is a major incentive for taking AP World, fewer students may seek out the pre-AP course. — Alia Wong, The Atlantic, "The Controversy Over Just How Much History AP World History Should Cover," 13 June 2018 Cornerstone Macro Discussing last week’s outside reversal day in NVIDIA and the concomitant reversal in the S&P 500 GICS Information Technology Sector. — Bloomberg.com, "Bloomberg Markets: Worth on ’Money in Motion’," 16 June 2017 The result has been a huge number of complaints throughout academe and a concomitant growth of bureaucracy. — William Stadiem, Town & Country, "Can Harvard's Storied Final Clubs Resist the Tides of Change?," 2 Aug. 2016 The Deputy Director has been referred - a criminal referral to the US Attorney's office by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice agreed to by the concomitant office in the FBI. — Fox News, "David Limbaugh, Andy McCarthy break down the Mueller probe," 4 June 2018 Soon after came the rise of leisure among those toiling in the industrial revolution — holidays bought factories time to retool — and its concomitant: sports as a pastime and spectacle. — OregonLive.com, "'Kicks' gives us a lively, engaging history of the sneaker (book review)," 1 May 2018 Given the beating concomitant with playing catcher, the heights of Mauer’s career at the plate are even more impressive. — Si.com Staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: David Price's New Vantage Point, Joe Mauer's Hall of Fame Candidacy and a Possible Reboot of the '86 Postseason," 16 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'concomitant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.