as in companions
a person who lives at the same time or is about the same age as another
Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were exact contemporaries, actually being born on the same day in 1809
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Recent Examples of contemporaries
Over the decades and centuries, the characters whose contemporaries see them as unsound or suspect are, the reader understands, the most in tune with the house’s past.
—
Amanda Parrish Morgan, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2024
At this point in her career, the crown is secure and there's nothing left to prove, yet Beyoncé continues to push herself and, as all the greats do, to push her contemporaries.
—Keke Palmer, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
Fellow contemporaries Metallica tapped its own sources of inspiration during the first of a two-concert stand that fared considerably better than the closing night.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 12 Dec. 2024
Apart from Paul McCartney, who had a Top 10 single with a resurrected Beatles song in 2023, very few of John’s contemporaries are still alive, let alone releasing new hits.
—Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, many of his contemporaries from this era, at least in our collective minds, remain frozen in time.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2024
Lamar has dual critical and commercial bona fides, a pairing that not all of his mainstream rap contemporaries have access to.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
While her contemporaries like Dakota Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence might opt for a pair of jeans to go with their tee and cardigan, Stewart chose a pair of matching cashmere micro shorts with lace trim.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2024
While different religions and ancient cultures had described the planet as animate for eons, Lovelock’s contemporaries in the scientific community were more apt to shun this notion, preferring a Darwinian stance that species adapted to their environments, but not vice versa.
—Joe Spring, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2024
Amanda Parrish Morgan, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2024
At this point in her career, the crown is secure and there's nothing left to prove, yet Beyoncé continues to push herself and, as all the greats do, to push her contemporaries.
—Keke Palmer, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
Fellow contemporaries Metallica tapped its own sources of inspiration during the first of a two-concert stand that fared considerably better than the closing night.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 12 Dec. 2024
Apart from Paul McCartney, who had a Top 10 single with a resurrected Beatles song in 2023, very few of John’s contemporaries are still alive, let alone releasing new hits.
—Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, many of his contemporaries from this era, at least in our collective minds, remain frozen in time.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2024
Lamar has dual critical and commercial bona fides, a pairing that not all of his mainstream rap contemporaries have access to.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
While her contemporaries like Dakota Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence might opt for a pair of jeans to go with their tee and cardigan, Stewart chose a pair of matching cashmere micro shorts with lace trim.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2024
While different religions and ancient cultures had described the planet as animate for eons, Lovelock’s contemporaries in the scientific community were more apt to shun this notion, preferring a Darwinian stance that species adapted to their environments, but not vice versa.
—Joe Spring, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near contemporaries
Cite this Entry
“Contemporaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contemporaries. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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