contemporary
contemporary — adjective
1. connected with the current era, having the qualities or look of the modern world
connected with the current era, having the qualities or look of the modern world rather than the past
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
This contemporary dance group uses music and movement to tell stories.
Élise prefers contemporary furniture with simple shapes and no extra details.
- 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
- old-fashioned
belonging to or typical of an earlier time
- traditional
following long-established customs rather than modern approaches
文法句型
contemporary + noun
be + contemporary
常見錯誤
2. connected with a particular historical time that another person, object, or even
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
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.
Archaeologists compared the tools found at the site with contemporary objects from nearby regions.
The museum exhibits Victorian furniture alongside contemporary paintings from the same period.
- coeval
very formal and rare; used mostly in academic writing
- coexisting
focuses on existence at the same time rather than cultural/historical belonging
文法句型
contemporary + noun
contemporary with + noun phrase
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
contemporary — noun
1. a person who lived or exists in the same historical period as another person, es
a person who lived or exists in the same historical period as another person, especially a famous or notable figure
Einstein and his contemporaries explored the nature of space and time during the early 1900s.
pattern: [person] and his/her contemporaries
Jane Austen's contemporaries included other women writers who also published novels about family life.
Kemi studies the artist Tamara de Lempicka and her contemporaries in 1920s Paris.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, the scientist insisted on running careful experiments before publishing results.
文法句型
[person]'s contemporaries
a contemporary of [person]
用法筆記
The person or group used as the reference point must be named or clearly understood from context. Often used in the plural (contemporaries) with a possessive: Mozart and his contemporaries.
常見錯誤
2. someone who is roughly as old as you — for example, a person who grew up in the
someone who is roughly as old as you — for example, a person who grew up in the same decade or is at a similar stage of life
Tamás enjoys running with his contemporaries from the local sports club.
pattern: [person]'s contemporaries (same age group)
At the conference, Lara found few contemporaries — most attendees were over sixty.
Children often learn social skills more quickly from their contemporaries than from adults.
Dario's contemporaries are all starting families and buying homes in the same neighborhood.
文法句型
[person]'s contemporaries
be contemporaries
用法筆記
Often interchangeable with 'peer' in informal contexts. Unlike noun sense 1 (SAME ERA), this sense does not require a known historical figure as reference — ordinary people's age-group connections are sufficient.