You’re sitting in a coffee shop reading a book about the Renaissance and the author mentions that Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were contemporaries. You get the gist, right? They lived at the same time. But if you dig into the nuance of the word, it starts to get a lot more interesting than just a shared calendar.
Words shift. They evolve.
What does contemporaries mean when we aren't just talking about dusty history books? It’s a word that bridges the gap between the past and the present, describing people, ideas, or even furniture that exist in the same slice of history. It’s about a shared atmosphere.
Defining the "Together-Time" Concept
At its most basic, literal level, the word comes from the Latin con (together) and tempus (time). It is the state of being "with the time." If you were born in 1995, anyone else born around then is your contemporary. But we rarely use it that way in casual conversation. We don't usually walk into a bar and say, "Look at all my contemporaries getting drinks." That sounds like something a robot trying to pass as human would say.
Instead, we use it to group people by their influence or their era.
In the world of academia or professional history, it’s a tool for comparison. When someone asks "what does contemporaries mean" in a research context, they are looking for peer groups. They want to know who was influencing whom. Did these two people breathe the same air? Could they have read each other’s letters? It’s about the overlap of existence.
The Difference Between Contemporary and Contemporaries
This is where people usually trip up.
"Contemporary" (singular) often acts as an adjective. We talk about contemporary art, contemporary music, or contemporary dance. In these cases, it basically means "modern" or "happening right now." If you go to a gallery and see a banana taped to a wall, that's contemporary art. It belongs to our current moment.
However, "contemporaries" (plural noun) is almost always about a relationship between people or things.
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Think about it like this:
- Contemporary (Adjective): Modern, current, trendy.
- Contemporaries (Noun): People who lived or worked during the same period.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were contemporaries. They weren't "contemporary" in the sense of being modern—they’ve been dead for a long time—but they were contemporaries to each other. They shared a timeline. They shared the same political stresses, the same diseases, and the same lack of air conditioning.
Why the Context of "Same Time" Matters So Much
It’s easy to dismiss this as a simple vocabulary lesson, but understanding what contemporaries mean is vital for understanding how the world works. Nothing happens in a vacuum.
Take the music industry in the 1960s. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys were all contemporaries. This isn't just a fun fact; it explains the music. Brian Wilson heard Rubber Soul and felt he had to make Pet Sounds. The Beatles heard Pet Sounds and felt they had to make Sgt. Pepper.
They were competing. They were reacting. They were contemporaries.
If you look at the tech world today, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk are contemporaries. Their lives overlap, their businesses compete for the same attention, and they inhabit the same cultural zeitgeist. When we look back in 100 years, we will group them together because they were shaped by the same global forces—the rise of the internet, the shift toward AI, and the complexities of globalism.
Contemporaries in Literature and Art
In the literary world, the term gets used to categorize movements. You’ve got the Lost Generation writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. They were contemporaries who shared the trauma of World War I. Their writing reflects a shared disillusionment.
When you ask what does contemporaries mean in literature, you're really asking: who was in the room?
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- Virginia Woolf and James Joyce: Contemporaries who both experimented with "stream of consciousness" writing.
- Mary Shelley and Lord Byron: Contemporaries who spent a rainy summer in Switzerland, leading to the creation of Frankenstein.
- Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou: Contemporaries who redefined the American literary canon in the late 20th century.
It’s about the "vibe" of an era. It’s the collective consciousness.
Is "Contemporaries" Only for the Past?
Definitely not.
Honestly, you are a contemporary of everyone alive right now. You’re a contemporary of the person who just won a Nobel Prize and the person who just went viral for a silly dance on social media. We are all moving through this specific, weird moment in the 2020s together.
But usually, the term is reserved for people within a specific field. Doctors have contemporaries in the medical community. Architects have contemporaries who are also designing skyscrapers. It implies a level of shared professional experience. If you are a software developer, your contemporaries are the other people dealing with the same coding languages and the same industry shifts you are facing.
Misconceptions: What It Isn't
People often think "contemporaries" has to mean "friends."
That’s a mistake.
You can be someone’s contemporary and absolutely loathe them. In fact, many famous contemporaries were bitter rivals. Newton and Leibniz were contemporaries who fought over who actually invented calculus. They didn't like each other, but they are forever linked because they worked on the same problems at the same time.
Also, it doesn't mean you have to be the exact same age. A 60-year-old professor and a 25-year-old grad student can be contemporaries if they are working in the same field at the same time. The "time" part is more important than the "age" part. If your careers overlap significantly, you’re in the club.
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The Way Modern Culture Uses the Term
In the world of interior design, "contemporary" is often used interchangeably with "modern," which drives designers crazy. Modernism refers to a specific mid-20th-century style (think Mad Men). Contemporary design is just... whatever is happening now.
But when we talk about contemporaries in the furniture world, we might be talking about how a certain chair by Eames was a contemporary of a specific desk by George Nelson. They look good together because they were born of the same aesthetic philosophy.
How to Use the Word Correctly in Your Own Writing
If you want to sound like you know what you're talking about, use "contemporaries" when you want to highlight a relationship or a comparison.
Instead of saying, "They lived at the same time," try saying, "They were contemporaries who shared a radical vision for the future." It sounds more authoritative. It suggests that you understand the historical context, not just the dates on a timeline.
Quick Checklist for Usage:
- Are you talking about two or more people/things? (Use plural: contemporaries).
- Did they exist in the same period? (Yes).
- Are you comparing them? (Yes).
If you meet those three criteria, you’re using the word perfectly.
What This Means for You
Understanding the meaning of contemporaries allows you to see the world in layers. It helps you realize that history isn't just a list of names; it's a series of overlapping lives.
When you study a person, don't just look at their biography. Look at their contemporaries. Look at who was challenging them, who was inspiring them, and what the world felt like for everyone living in that moment. It provides a 3D view of reality.
Next Steps for Applying This:
- Audit Your Influences: Think about your own contemporaries in your career or hobby. Who are the 3–5 people working alongside you right now that push you to be better?
- Deepen Your Research: The next time you read a biography, Google "Who were the contemporaries of [Person's Name]?" You’ll find connections you never realized existed.
- Refine Your Vocabulary: Start distinguishing between "contemporary" (the style) and "contemporaries" (the people) in your writing to improve clarity.
- Contextualize History: When teaching or explaining a concept, always mention the contemporaries of the main figure to provide a richer, more accurate picture of the era.
By viewing the world through the lens of who lived together and worked together, you stop seeing isolated events and start seeing the grand, messy, interconnected web of human progress. It's a much more interesting way to look at the clock.