ENGLISH
REFERENCE

contemporaneous

adj.
C1 Advanced US //kənˌtɛmpɝˈeɪniəs// UK //kəntˌɛmpɔːɹˈeɪniəs// con·tem·po·ra·ne·ous

adj. happening or existing at the same time as something else. You use this to describe things that are from the same period in history.

adj. occurring or existing at the same time as another event or person. Often used to describe historical documents or events that are from the same era.


SIMPLE

The two events were contemporaneous.

CONTEXTUAL

The historian compared the contemporaneous accounts of the battle to understand what actually happened.

COMPLEX

While the two authors lived in different countries, their contemporaneous works reveal a shared concern for the social changes occurring during the late nineteenth century.

Synonyms
Origin

From Latin contemporāneus (“contemporary”), from con- (“with”) + tempus (“time”) + -aneus (“of or pertaining to”) (compare Late Latin temporāneus (“opportune, timely”)).

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