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coeval

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noun

as in contemporary
a person who lives at the same time or is about the same age as another somewhat surprisingly, Saint Patrick and Attila the Hun were coevals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective coeval differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of coeval are coincident, contemporaneous, contemporary, simultaneous, and synchronous. While all these words mean "existing or occurring at the same time," coeval refers usually to periods, ages, eras, eons.

two stars thought to be coeval

In what contexts can coincident take the place of coeval?

While the synonyms coincident and coeval are close in meaning, coincident is applied to events and may be used in order to avoid implication of causal relationship.

the end of World War II was coincident with a great vintage year

When can contemporaneous be used instead of coeval?

The synonyms contemporaneous and coeval are sometimes interchangeable, but contemporaneous is more often applied to events than to people.

contemporaneous accounts of the kidnapping

When could contemporary be used to replace coeval?

The meanings of contemporary and coeval largely overlap; however, contemporary is likely to apply to people and what relates to them.

Abraham Lincoln was contemporary with Charles Darwin

When would simultaneous be a good substitute for coeval?

In some situations, the words simultaneous and coeval are roughly equivalent. However, simultaneous implies correspondence in a moment of time.

the two shots were simultaneous

Where would synchronous be a reasonable alternative to coeval?

The words synchronous and coeval can be used in similar contexts, but synchronous implies exact correspondence in time and especially in periodic intervals.

synchronous timepieces

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of coeval
Adjective
Their personalities and their pain are made almost exactly coeval, with little telling slippage between. Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023 Her letters to Bradley demonstrate that the idea was coeval with her wish to be a poet and her discovery of romantic feeling for girls, and that it was fully formed as early as her adolescence. Langdon Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 25 Feb. 2020 Tribalism and clannishness are coeval with human social life. Stephen Holmes, The New York Review of Books, 17 Jan. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coeval
Adjective
  • And Carpenter now owns the longest such streak among women, surpassing Cardi B, who had three concurrent top 10s for four weeks in 2018.
    Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2024
  • In addition to four straight EPL titles, last season saw City become the first club to hold concurrent titles in the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, in addition to the Premier League trophy.
    Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Carter lived long enough that many of his contemporaries are gone, and only a handful of members of the media are left from those days.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 9 Jan. 2025
  • As for many of his New York-slice contemporaries, joy is the common ingredient.
    Ed Levine, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Lucky for Southerners, our region is home to all kinds of one-of-a-kind natural experience—from catching the synchronous fireflies in Great Smoky Mountain National Park or Congaree National Park to kayaking to see bioluminescent plankton in Vero Beach, Florida.
    Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 26 Dec. 2024
  • More than half the day has to be live for it to be considered synchronous.
    Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • With a lockable synchronic-tilt mechanism and special Z-Shape design, the Kaiser 2 can accommodate a weight up to 180kg, quite a bit more than normal mechanisms on office chairs and the back can be reclined to an angle of 160 degrees which can be locked when not in rocking mode.
    Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2021
  • For his last runway collection, unveiled in September, Michele constructed a parallel universe of side-by-side shows separated by a wall that when lifted revealed twins in identical looks in synchronic stride.
    Colleen Barry, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2022
Adjective
  • The timing of these changes were roughly coincident with clarification of Information Blocking rules and Epic’s introduction of its own competing product.
    Seth Joseph, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
  • Another suggestion is that there were two more or less coincident eruptions, one each in northern and southern hemispheres.
    Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 26 July 2011
Adjective
  • Similarly, proceeds from official souvenir sales for both of Obama’s inaugurations went toward paying for inaugural events, according to contemporaneous news accounts.
    Zach Everson, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
  • Then, we’re treated to quotes from contemporaneous reviews of The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Dracula.
    Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 23 Aug. 2024

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Thesaurus Entries Near coeval

Cite this Entry

“Coeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coeval. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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