as in companions
a person who lives at the same time or is about the same age as another
Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were exact contemporaries, actually being born on the same day in 1809
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Recent Examples of contemporaries
Like many of his contemporaries—James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Styron—Matthiessen was in Paris to channel the legacy of literary modernism and to write innovative fiction.
—
Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Much of the derision was coming from the performers’ contemporaries — some of whom had rejected the invite on moral and political grounds, but many who were not actually invited to perform.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025
The center — one of only seven basic laboratory cancer centers in the nation that are focused primarily on research — and its contemporaries were established through the National Cancer Act of 1971.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Oct. 2025
Maersk, like many of its major ocean carrier contemporaries including Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has avoided transits through the Red Sea since December 2023, two months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 10 Oct. 2025
Opening at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, José María Velasco features 24 of the eponymous master’s paintings, which — like his American contemporaries in the Hudson River School — largely consist of sweeping landscapes of natural splendor.
—Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Among his contemporaries, Freddy stands alone.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
His sparse biography is fleshed out and enriched by a marvelous evocation of Elizabethan theater before and during his brief career—and his impact on a string of his contemporaries, particularly Shakespeare.
—Audiofile Magazine
september 30, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon, 18th-century contemporaries, one in Sweden and the other in France, try to identify all of life on Earth.
—The Know, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Much of the derision was coming from the performers’ contemporaries — some of whom had rejected the invite on moral and political grounds, but many who were not actually invited to perform.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2025
The center — one of only seven basic laboratory cancer centers in the nation that are focused primarily on research — and its contemporaries were established through the National Cancer Act of 1971.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Oct. 2025
Maersk, like many of its major ocean carrier contemporaries including Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has avoided transits through the Red Sea since December 2023, two months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 10 Oct. 2025
Opening at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, José María Velasco features 24 of the eponymous master’s paintings, which — like his American contemporaries in the Hudson River School — largely consist of sweeping landscapes of natural splendor.
—Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Among his contemporaries, Freddy stands alone.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
His sparse biography is fleshed out and enriched by a marvelous evocation of Elizabethan theater before and during his brief career—and his impact on a string of his contemporaries, particularly Shakespeare.
—Audiofile Magazine
september 30, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon, 18th-century contemporaries, one in Sweden and the other in France, try to identify all of life on Earth.
—The Know, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemporaries
Noun
-
Tesla could still make robots work in its factories, but humanoid robots may be better suited as house helpers and companions.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
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Even so, more than 70% of teens have used AI companions and half use them regularly, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for using screens and digital media sensibly.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Traditionally, women have been in charge of households’ purse strings and are responsible for more discretionary spending than their male counterparts.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The University of Texas at Austin took a different tone than its counterparts.—
Taylor Romine,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But Romancelandia in particular prides itself on being a community of equals.—
Rebecca Ackermann,
The Atlantic,
5 Oct. 2025
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The philosopher John Rawls argued that true fairness requires recognizing all people as moral equals.—
Henrietta Moore,
Fortune,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contemporaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemporaries. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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