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

• coetaneous
• coeval
• coexistent
• coexisting
• coextensive
• coincident
• coincidental
• concurrent
• contemporary
• coterminous
• simultaneous
• synchronic
• synchronous

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

Accompanying the photos is an installation of contemporaneous ephemera, as well as excerpts of cinema verité-style footage of the band recorded by filmmakers Albert and David Maysles, who were granted access to document the group during their first U.S. visit in February 1964. —Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2025

There were no contemporaneous accounts written by Omanis, or written in Arabic, that recorded with such specificity the life and times of Omani tribespeople of that time. —Chris Wallace, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2025

This is also why the contemporaneous criticisms of the picture as style over substance ring so hollow today. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025

According to contemporaneous messages and testimony from Kahlon, he was told that decision was made by Musk. —Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 26 Mar. 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