Definition

Noun: 1. People of the same era or generation: "Coevals" refers to a group of people who live during the same historical period or who are roughly the same age. It emphasizes the shared temporal context of their lives.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • Shakespeare and his coevals transformed English literature. (This refers to other writers and playwrights living during the same period as Shakespeare.)
  • My grandmother often reminisces about the fashions popular among her coevals in the 1950s. (This refers to people who were her peers, of a similar age, during that decade.)
  • The study compared the economic opportunities available to the coevals of the 1920s with those of the 2020s. (This refers to all people living during each respective time period.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is formal and academic. It is more commonly used in historical, sociological, or demographic writing than in everyday conversation.
• It can refer to a specific, defined group (e.g., "Mozart's Viennese coevals") or to an entire generation or age cohort in a general sense.

Variants and Related Words

• Coeval (adjective): Originating or existing during the same period; contemporary.
  • The coeval rise of industry and urbanization.
• Coeval (noun, singular): A person of roughly the same age or from the same period as another.
  • He was a coeval of the famous poet.
• Contemporary (noun/adjective): A very close synonym, though "contemporary" can also imply a stronger sense of modern or current times.

Synonyms

• Contemporaries: (The most direct and common synonym) People living or occurring at the same time.
• Peers: People of the same age, status, or ability. (Focuses more on social equality than shared time period).
• Generation: All the people born and living at about the same time.
• Cohort: A group of people sharing a common statistical or demographic characteristic, such as age.

Antonyms

• Ancestors: People from whom one is descended.
• Predecessors: People who held a position or office before the current holder.
• Descendants: People who are the offspring of a particular ancestor.
• Successors: People who follow or replace another in a position.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Age cohort: A demographic group whose members are approximately the same age.
• Historical period: A length of time characterized by certain events, developments, or cultural norms.

Noun

1. all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age