contemporary

contemporary — adjective

1. connected with the current era, having the qualities or look of the modern world

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

connected with the current era, having the qualities or look of the modern world rather than the past

Example

Rin's kitchen has a clean, contemporary look with white walls and wooden tables.

collocation: contemporary look / contemporary design

The gallery focuses on contemporary art made by young artists from Asia.

collocation: contemporary art

Common collocations
  • contemporary art
  • contemporary music
  • contemporary design
  • contemporary architecture
  • contemporary society
  • contemporary culture
  • contemporary style
Synonyms
  • modern

    wider meaning; can imply a break from tradition, whereas contemporary simply means 'of the present time'

  • current

    more neutral and factual; lacks the style/character connotation of contemporary

  • up-to-date

    emphasizes inclusion of the latest information or features; more informal than contemporary

Antonyms
  • old-fashioned

    belonging to or typical of an earlier time

  • traditional

    following long-established customs rather than modern approaches

Grammar Patterns

contemporary + noun

be + contemporary

Common Mistakes

I bought a contemporary phone yesterday.
I bought a new phone yesterday.
'contemporary' describes a style or character of being current, not simply 'new' or 'recently purchased.'
She wears very contemporary clothes' (for 'fashionable').
She wears very fashionable clothes.
'contemporary' is about belonging to the present era, not about being trendy or stylish in a temporary way.

2. connected with a particular historical time that another person, object, or even

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with a particular historical time that another person, object, or event also belongs to — for example, a writer and the society she lived in

Example

Historians study contemporary documents to understand what daily life was like in ancient Rome.

collocation: contemporary documents / contemporary accounts

Shakespeare's plays give readers a picture of contemporary English society and its values.

Common collocations
  • contemporary documents
  • contemporary accounts
  • contemporary sources
  • contemporary records
  • contemporary writings
  • contemporary evidence
  • contemporary with
Synonyms
  • coeval

    very formal and rare; used mostly in academic writing

  • coexisting

    focuses on existence at the same time rather than cultural/historical belonging

Antonyms
  • earlier

    belonging to a previous period

  • later

    belonging to a subsequent period

Grammar Patterns

contemporary + noun

contemporary with + noun phrase

Usage Note

The referring historical period must be clearly named or established by context — the sentence cannot use this sense without telling the reader which period is meant. Frequently seen with proper historical names: Victorian, Renaissance, Ming Dynasty, etc.

Common Mistakes

The contemporary buildings of Paris are beautiful' (meaning 'modern').
The contemporary buildings of Napoleon's Paris were designed in the neoclassical style.
without naming the period, readers assume the 'modern' meaning.
These two writers were contemporary' (adjective for people).
These two writers were contemporaries' (noun, plural).
for people living at the same time, use the noun form.

contemporary — noun

Word family

  • contemporarily
    adverbC1
  • contemporaneous
    adjectiveC2
  • contemporaneity
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Contemporary and modern both relate to the present time, but contemporary focuses on what belongs to the current era, while modern often carries the idea of breaking from older styles or traditions. Current is more neutral — it simply means 'happening now' with no style judgment, as in the current price or the current situation. Trendy describes things that follow the latest fashion but may not last, whereas up-to-date means recently updated with the latest information or features. For example: a gallery shows contemporary art (art of today, any style), a modern building uses clean lines and new materials, and a trendy café might close in six months when the fashion changes. To say a phone is up-to-date means it has the newest software.

contemporary ↗modern ↗current ↗trendy ↗up-to-date ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • contemporary with something
  • a contemporary of someone

Prepositions

  • contemporary with

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Contemporary entered English in the 1600s from French 'contemporain', which came from Latin 'contemporarius' — a combination of 'con-' (together) and 'tempus' (time). Its earliest meaning was 'living or occurring at the same time.' The sense 'modern, current' developed later, around the 1800s, as people began using it to describe what belongs to the present era rather than the past.