contemporize

verb

con·​tem·​po·​rize kən-ˈtem-pə-ˌrīz How to pronounce contemporize (audio)
contemporized; contemporizing

transitive verb

: to make contemporary
contemporize a magazine with the latest fashions

Examples of contemporize in a Sentence

the new owners of the old-line French restaurant plan to contemporize the menu and make the place seem less intimidating
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Anne Hathaway — The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Anne Hathaway's take on Selina Kyle is a textbook example of contemporizing a timely character, which was emblematic of what Christopher Nolan did with the Dark Knight trilogy. Rendy Jones, EW.com, 19 July 2024 There was a real opportunity here to contemporize the story by factoring climate change into the increasing frequency of violent storms tearing up America’s Tornado Alley. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 July 2024 The museum has further aimed to contemporize its collection through digital access and social media, the demands of which have accelerated museums’ public-facing duties over the past few decades. Anne Wallentine, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2024 Some 20 years later, the character was drolly contemporized as Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand), who may not have made her son into a mobster but, far worse, made him into the kind of mobster who needed therapy. Mark Harris Keita Morimoto, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Standing on a floating dock in New London by a replica of the ship Amistad, which was used to bring enslaved people to this country, community activist Sara Chaney only needed 29 words Friday to contemporize the history of slavery. Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2022 Revivals which have tried to contemporize the setting or downplay the AIDS content have generally not been well received. Christopher Arnott, courant.com, 2 Nov. 2021 Yes, the Old Globe’s ever-surprising, at times wildly contemporized new staging of the great tragedy makes room for a rock band led by that other British bard of romantic lamentation. San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2019 Various new pieces were purchased with proceeds from last year’s auction of seven works by 20th-century artists, including Andy Warhol, to help diversify and contemporize its collection. USA TODAY, 17 June 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of contemporize was in 1646

Dictionary Entries Near contemporize

Cite this Entry

“Contemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contemporize. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!