contemporize

verb

con·​tem·​po·​rize kən-ˈtem-pə-ˌrīz How to pronounce contemporize (audio)
contemporized; contemporizing

transitive verb

: to make contemporary
contemporize a magazine with the latest fashions

Examples of contemporize in a Sentence

the new owners of the old-line French restaurant plan to contemporize the menu and make the place seem less intimidating
Recent Examples on the Web Some 20 years later, the character was drolly contemporized as Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand), who may not have made her son into a mobster but, far worse, made him into the kind of mobster who needed therapy. Mark Harris Keita Morimoto, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Standing on a floating dock in New London by a replica of the ship Amistad, which was used to bring enslaved people to this country, community activist Sara Chaney only needed 29 words Friday to contemporize the history of slavery. Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2022 Revivals which have tried to contemporize the setting or downplay the AIDS content have generally not been well received. Christopher Arnott, courant.com, 2 Nov. 2021 Yes, the Old Globe’s ever-surprising, at times wildly contemporized new staging of the great tragedy makes room for a rock band led by that other British bard of romantic lamentation. San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2019 Various new pieces were purchased with proceeds from last year’s auction of seven works by 20th-century artists, including Andy Warhol, to help diversify and contemporize its collection. USA TODAY, 17 June 2019 Selecting Gigi—a model with serious social media clout—as the face of the new campaign could be an attempt to inject some youthfulness into the storied brand, which, under Tisci’s direction, is working hard to contemporize its image. Sara Radin, Teen Vogue, 15 May 2019 William Tyler, Nashville guitarist, will bring the instrumentals while Brooklyn electronic producer, Fielded contemporizes them at Constellation on Thursday. 8:30 p.m. Audrey Gorden, RedEye Chicago, 13 July 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contemporize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of contemporize was in 1646

Dictionary Entries Near contemporize

Cite this Entry

“Contemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contemporize. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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