concomitant

adjective con·com·i·tant \ kən-ˈkä-mə-tənt , kän- \

Updated on: 31 Mar 2018

Definition of concomitant

: accompanying especially in a subordinate or incidental way

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concomitantly

adverb

See concomitant defined for English-language learners

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Examples of concomitant in a Sentence

… 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

Recent Examples of concomitant from the Web

Nearly all federal statutes providing for the death penalty do require a concomitant death.

— NBC News, "Trump wants the death penalty for drug traffickers. He's got it.," 20 Mar. 2018
In the past half century the number of rainy winter days per year on the archipelago has more than doubled, with a concomitant increase in the amount of icebound tundra.

— The Economist, "Arctic conservationEcologists debate whether climate change helps or hurts reindeer," 19 Dec. 2017
The stock market is at or near record highs, and America’s firms are sitting on trillions of dollars of cash that would help tide them over in the event of any downturn and concomitant fall in sales and profits.

— annie lowrey, The Atlantic, "The U.S. Isn’t Prepared for the Next Recession," 31 Oct. 2017
Each instance of pain seems to produce a concomitant sensation of euphoria—both of us leave the room feeling high.

— jeff gordinier, Esquire, "The Passion of Daniel Humm, the Greatest Chef in America," 13 Feb. 2017
Cotton wealth led to a concomitant rise in the district’s slave population.

— The Root, "Tracing Your Roots: How Did My Black Ancestor Come to Own Land?," 6 Oct. 2017
Representative Higgins suggested to Bloomberg that Trump’s change of mind reflected his growing disillusionment with congressional Republicans — and concomitant interest in cutting deals with Democrats.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump (Reportedly) Abandons Plan to Fund Infrastructure Plan With Private Money," 27 Sep. 2017
In fact, the climate, its fluctuations over the millennia and concomitant changes in sea level, have played an underappreciated role, Mr. Fagan says, in the blossoming of fisheries in certain places and times, their extinction in others.

— richard adams carey, WSJ, "What the Land Owes to the Sea," 22 Sep. 2017
In areas that lucked out and found themselves getting paid more for the same medical care, there was a concomitant brisk increase in medical services rendered.

— danielle ofri, Slate Magazine, "Big Money’s Sway Over Doctors," 2 Aug. 2017

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.

Did You Know?

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.

Origin and Etymology of concomitant

Latin concomitant-, concomitans, present participle of concomitari to accompany, from com- + comitari to accompany, from comit-, comes companion — more at count

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1607

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

concomitant Synonyms

Synonyms

accompanying, attendant, attending, coexistent, coexisting, coincident, coincidental, concurrent;

Near Antonyms

unassociated, unconnected, unrelated;

associated, collateral, connected, linked, related;

consequent, resultant, resulting;

ensuing, following, subsequent;

accidental, casual, chance, fluky (also flukey), fortuitous, freak, incident, incidental;

concomitant

noun con·com·i·tant \ kən-ˈkä-mə-tənt , kän- \

Definition of concomitant

: something that accompanies or is collaterally connected with something else : accompaniment

See concomitant defined for English-language learners

Examples of concomitant in a Sentence

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