contemporary Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person of nearly the same age as another
    coeval.
  2. adjective satellite characteristic of the present
    modern-day.
    • contemporary trends in design
    • the role of computers in modern-day medicine
  3. adjective satellite belonging to the present time
    present-day.
    • contemporary leaders
  4. adjective satellite occurring in the same period of time
    contemporaneous.
    • a rise in interest rates is often contemporaneous with an increase in inflation
    • the composer Salieri was contemporary with Mozart

WordNet

Con*tem"po*ra*ry adjective
Etymology
Pref. con- + L. temporarius of belonging to time, tempus time. See Temporal, and cf. Contemporaneous.
Definitions
  1. Living, occuring, or existing, at the same time; done in, or belonging to, the same times; contemporaneous.
    This king [Henry VIII.] was contemporary with the greatest monarchs of Europe. Strype.
  2. Of the same age; coeval.
    A grove born with himself he sees, And loves his old contemporary trees. Cowley.
Con*tem"po*ra*ry noun
Wordforms
plural Contemporaries
Definitions
  1. One who lives at the same time with another; as, Petrarch and Chaucer were contemporaries.

Webster 1913