Synonyms of contiguous

contiguous

adjective

kən-ˈti-gyə-wəs 

as in adjacent

having a border in common

Connecticut and Massachusetts are contiguous states

Synonyms & Similar Words

• adjacent
• neighboring
• adjoining
• closest
• bordering
• abutting
• conterminous
• united
• joining
• flanking
• juxtaposed
• attached
• touching
• close
• nearest
• fringing
• connected
• linked
• nearby
• flush
• connecting
• surrounding
• near
• verging
• skirting
• approximate
• next-door
• communicating
• joined
• encircling
• peripheral
• immediate
• marginal
• fencing
• bounding
• enclosing
• nigh
• embracing
• tangential
• interconnecting
• encompassing
• circumjacent
• ambient
• tangent
• rimming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• noncontiguous
• discrete
• separate
• single
• nonadjacent
• apart
• isolated
• unconnected
• detached
• distant
• free-standing
• unattached
• isolate
• unlinked
• disconnected
• removed
• farthest
• remote
• far
• discontinuous
• away
• divided
• noncontinuous
• resolved
• split
• severed
• far-off
• broken up
• dissociated
• faraway
• divorced
• disunited
• parted
• uncoupled
• ramified
• disjoined
• sundered
• dissevered
• unyoked

Synonym Chooser

How is the word contiguous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of contiguous are adjacent, adjoining, and juxtaposed. While all these words mean "being in close proximity," contiguous implies having contact on all or most of one side.

offices in all 48 contiguous states

When might adjacent be a better fit than contiguous?

While in some cases nearly identical to contiguous, adjacent may or may not imply contact but always implies absence of anything of the same kind in between.

a house with an adjacent garage

When can adjoining be used instead of contiguous?

While the synonyms adjoining and contiguous are close in meaning, adjoining definitely implies meeting and touching at some point or line.

had adjoining rooms at the hotel

When would juxtaposed be a good substitute for contiguous?

The words juxtaposed and contiguous can be used in similar contexts, but juxtaposed means placed side by side especially so as to permit comparison and contrast.

a skyscraper juxtaposed to a church

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of contiguous

The occultation will be visible across the contiguous 48 states, much of Canada and parts of northern South America. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026

For history buffs who couldn't make the trip east, there was the American Freedom Train, a 26-car behemoth that toured all 48 contiguous states. — ABC News, 13 June 2026

Not exactly anthology but hardly contiguous narrative, Koosha’s film works best as a kind of dispatch from a troubled moment, giving us human snippets to understand what can be an abstract violence. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026

Florian Ederer, a professor of economics at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, noticed the seat maps contained large, contiguous blocks of seats that had suddenly appeared on the secondary market. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 9 June 2026

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