concomitant

1 of 2

adjective

con·​com·​i·​tant kən-ˈkä-mə-tənt 

kän-

: accompanying especially in a subordinate or incidental way

concomitantly adverb

concomitant

2 of 2

noun

con·​com·​i·​tant kən-ˈkä-mə-tənt 

kän-

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

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.

Synonyms

Adjective

• attendant
• accompanying
• attending
• associated
• concurrent

Noun

• accompaniment

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

But concomitant with this were tensions around the concept of localism, an ethos with its roots in the conditions and convictions of the earliest settlers. —JSTOR Daily, 18 Oct. 2025

The West persisted as a meaningful geopolitical concept and entity even after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its concomitant East. —Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025

Noun

But concomitant with this were tensions around the concept of localism, an ethos with its roots in the conditions and convictions of the earliest settlers. —JSTOR Daily, 18 Oct. 2025

The hope, for many in Vietnam, is that the war and all its concomitant struggles will fade into the oblivion of prosperity. —Damien Cave, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

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

First Known Use

Adjective

1607, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1621, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

concomitant

adjective

con·​com·​i·​tant

kən-ˈkäm-ət-ənt,

kän-

: accompanying especially as something of less importance

concomitant noun

concomitantly adverb