HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
adj. 1. Belonging to the same period of time: a fact documented by two contemporary sources. 2. Of about the same age. 3. Current; modern: contemporary trends in design. n. pl. con·tem·po·rar·ies 1. One of the same time or age: Shelley and Keats were contemporaries. 2. A person of the present age. [Medieval Latin contemporārius : Latin com-, com- + Latin tempus, tempor-, time + Latin -ārius, -ary.] con·tem′po·rari·ly (-tĕm′pə-rârə-lē) adv. Synonyms: contemporary, contemporaneous, simultaneous, synchronous, concurrent, coincident, concomitant These adjectives mean existing or occurring at the same time. Contemporary and contemporaneous often refer to historical or indefinite time periods, with contemporary used more often of persons and contemporaneous of events and facts: The composer Salieri was contemporary with Mozart. A rise in interest rates is often contemporaneous with an increase in inflation. Simultaneous suggests a briefer or more definite moment in time and often implies deliberate coordination: The activists organized simultaneous demonstrations in many major cities. Synchronous refers to related events that occur together, usually as part of a process or design: "A single, synchronous flowering and seed-bearing ... is common in bamboos in both the Old World and the New" (David G. Campbell). Concurrent refers to events or conditions, often of a parallel nature, that coexist in time: The administration had to deal with concurrent crises on three different continents. Coincident applies to events occurring at the same time without implying a relationship: "The resistance to the Pope's authority ... is pretty nearly coincident with the rise of the Ottomans" (John Henry Newman). Concomitant is used of concurrent events, one of which is viewed as attendant on the other: "The sweetness of naturally low-calorie fruits, vegetables, and grains may be enhanced without a concomitant increase in caloric content" (Leona Fitzmaurice). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
