as in concurrent
existing or occurring at the same period of time
two stars thought to be coeval because they have nearly the same mass and brightness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of coeval
Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
One operation persisted fourteen hours, a sort of sci-fi marvel of science, internal engineering, and medical dedication, contra all the coeval dystopian breakdowns of that first COVID year.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
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
Noun
The universal hatred comes from the child star’s coevals, whose curiosity about the occupation is mingled with resentment.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coeval
Adjective
-
And even then, states hold concurrent authority to regulate federal elections.—
John J. Martin,
The Conversation,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Stiles explained that the greatest benefit his team is currently seeing from the technology isn’t in product ideation but in reducing handoffs between steps, which enables more concurrent development time.—
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The economist Thomas Malthus, Spence’s contemporary, doubted the dividend would be so high.—
Will Glovinsky,
The Conversation,
30 Mar. 2026
-
After visiting the museum, contemporary ceramicists working in the area created new pieces inspired by the forms and stories of these ancient works.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The van is powered by a 94-hp permanent synchronous electric motor.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
30 Mar. 2026
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Anakeesta in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is launching a Nighttime Firefly Experience inspired by the Smoky Mountains’ rare synchronous fireflies.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Regional banks bounced a bit, still down a couple percent on the week, as Thursday’s flush lower amid a few separate but coincident credit hiccups exacerbated underlying unease with the opaque and possibly lax lending across private credit and among smaller commercial banks.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
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The coincident new Moon contributes no light pollution, making 2025 ideal for Orionid viewing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And so, Below the Clouds begins with Pliny the Younger’s contemporaneous description of the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but intercuts the images of ruin with glimpses of the modern metropolis.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
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In quasi-religious fashion, as the representatives of the Founders on Earth, Republicans are allowed to project their contemporaneous views backwards onto men who have been dead for centuries.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coeval. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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