Webster's English Dictionary

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contemporary

1. con.tem.po.rary \k*n-'tem-p*-.rer-e-\ aj [com- + L tempor-, tempus] 1: 
   happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same perio d 
   of time 2a: SIMULTANEOUS  2b: marked by characteristics of the present 
   period : MODERN OUS, SIMULTANEOUS, COINCIDENT mean existing or occurring at 
   the same time. CONTEMPORARY is likely to apply to people and what relates 
   to them CONTEMPORANEOUS to events; both suggest time spans measured in 
   years; COEVAL refers usu. to periods, ages, eras, eons; SYNCHRONOUS implies 
   exact correspondence in time and esp. in periodic intervals; SIMULTANEOUS 
   implies correspondence in instant of time; COINCIDENT stresses 
   simultaneousness of events and may be used in order to avoid implication of 
   causal relationship SYN syn CONTEMPORARY, CONTEMPORANEOUS, COEVAL, SYNCHRON 
2. contemporary n 1: one that is contemporary with another  2: one of the 
   same or nearly the same age as another