as in to redesign
to adapt to modern needs, taste, or usage
the new owners of the old-line French restaurant plan to contemporize the menu and make the place seem less intimidating
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Recent Examples of contemporize
Today, Venice is alive with relatively new firms and names seeking to contemporize Venetian glass.
—
Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
The delight in contemporizing the antiquated past may feel akin to the Pope in cassocks and a White Sox baseball cap, or a good medieval meme.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
Anderson has contemporized the timeline, situating us in our dismayingly recognizable era of fascist creep and following a sadly less recognizable underground effort to stop it.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Three trans opera singers refine their unique vocal talents and contemporize the history of gender-fluid performances in the art form.
TO YOUR HANDS: DIR Ana Mouyis.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 May 2025
The struggling restaurant’s South Asian owner Ananya (Mahira Kakkar) clings to her and her late husband’s original dream for the place while her forward-thinking Thai-American cook, Jacob (Tommy Bo), urges her to contemporize the menu of traditional dishes and the House of India vibe.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2025
At the same time, the mill is celebrating denim’s heritage with a collaboration that contemporizes classic textiles.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 14 Apr. 2025
Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, the beloved designer duo synonymous with reviving and contemporizing embroidery techniques, will also mark their presence at the Vogue Wedding Atelier.
—Sonakshi Sharma, Vogue, 7 Apr. 2025
At the 151-room W Budapest, a Neo-Renaissance building from 1886 once home to the Hungarian State Ballet Academy, lavish details like tiles and arches were preserved, yet are contemporized with such elements as sleek bronze cladding.
—Alia Akkam, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2024
Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
The delight in contemporizing the antiquated past may feel akin to the Pope in cassocks and a White Sox baseball cap, or a good medieval meme.
—Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
Anderson has contemporized the timeline, situating us in our dismayingly recognizable era of fascist creep and following a sadly less recognizable underground effort to stop it.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Three trans opera singers refine their unique vocal talents and contemporize the history of gender-fluid performances in the art form.
TO YOUR HANDS: DIR Ana Mouyis.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 May 2025
The struggling restaurant’s South Asian owner Ananya (Mahira Kakkar) clings to her and her late husband’s original dream for the place while her forward-thinking Thai-American cook, Jacob (Tommy Bo), urges her to contemporize the menu of traditional dishes and the House of India vibe.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2025
At the same time, the mill is celebrating denim’s heritage with a collaboration that contemporizes classic textiles.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 14 Apr. 2025
Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, the beloved designer duo synonymous with reviving and contemporizing embroidery techniques, will also mark their presence at the Vogue Wedding Atelier.
—Sonakshi Sharma, Vogue, 7 Apr. 2025
At the 151-room W Budapest, a Neo-Renaissance building from 1886 once home to the Hungarian State Ballet Academy, lavish details like tiles and arches were preserved, yet are contemporized with such elements as sleek bronze cladding.
—Alia Akkam, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contemporize
Verb
-
According to Locus, Array reduces reliance on manual labor by up to 90 percent, maintains consistent throughput under changing market and employment conditions and enables operations to scale and adapt without redesigning infrastructure.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
12 May 2026
-
Lastly, Google has redesigned its emoji yet again.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
The Lemon Grove City Council last week unanimously approved a $240,000 contract to remodel the city’s audiovisual system, a move that will modernize meeting accessibility, streamline archives and put the city in line with new state requirements.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 May 2026
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The new product is part of parent company Kraft Heinz’s broader plan to modernize its portfolio and reverse a sales slump that has lasted nearly a decade.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
13 May 2026
Verb
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The villas were restored and updated, Conrad Orlando was introduced as the luxury hotel anchor, and Evermore Bay (the lagoon beach that now defines the property) was built from scratch.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 May 2026
-
This is a developing story and will be updated.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Aurora's program has existed for decades, but officials recently streamlined the application process through the city's online customer service portal.—
Tori Mason,
CBS News,
16 May 2026
-
Mamdani intends to cut the median time for approvals from 210 to to 100 days via a mix of simplifying income verification, speeding up the process for lottery winners to be selected, and streamlining the applications, among other things.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Paul Feig attempted to remake Motherland in the States but the ABC pilot didn’t make it to series.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
-
That’s an intriguing philosophical swerve for the series that, however late arriving, paves the way for an unexpectedly moving epilogue after God honors Aziraphale and Crowley’s request to remake the universe as a place without gods or demons.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemporize. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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