contemporaneous

American  

[kuhn-tem-puh-rey-nee-uhs] / kənˌtɛm pəˈreɪ ni əs /

adjective

1. living or occurring during the same period of time; contemporary.

   Synonyms:

   concurrent, simultaneous

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contemporaneous British  

/ kənˌtɛmpəˈreɪnɪəs, kənˌtɛmpərəˈniːɪtɪ /

adjective

1. existing, beginning, or occurring in the same period of time

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Related Words

See contemporary.

Other Word Forms

• contemporaneity noun
• contemporaneously adverb
• contemporaneousness noun
• noncontemporaneous adjective
• noncontemporaneousness noun
• precontemporaneity noun
• precontemporaneous adjective
• uncontemporaneous adjective
• uncontemporaneousness noun

Etymology

Origin of contemporaneous

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin contemporāneus, equivalent to con- con- + tempor- (stem of tempus “time”) + -āneus ( -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous )

Example Sentences

If the trust was never executed, no loan documents were signed, and no contemporaneous bank records confirm the transfer, your brother may have engaged in “unjust enrichment,” which can affect both liability and limitation periods.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 2, 2026

Some economic data, such as last month’s unemployment rate and consumer-inflation numbers, can’t be compiled retroactively, the Labor Department has said, because they rely on contemporaneous surveys.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

He said the paper had produced "no contemporaneous record or corroborating evidence to support these disputed recollections from nearly 50 years ago".

From Barron's • Nov. 19, 2025

Ms Almonds-Windmill adds: "We think his few years with the police influenced this decision to keep a contemporaneous record of events. He left school at 14, but his recollections are beautifully written."

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025

It is a thousand years old, roughly contemporaneous with a report of an organ at Winchester Cathedral that boasted an extraordinary four hundred pipes.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall