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nowadays

nowadays

267 1.3
At the present time rather than in the past
  • adverb
  • /ˈnaʊəˌdeɪz/
translation icon : hoy en día
  • What do 11-year-olds do nowadays?
  • People nowadays
  • many people nowadays
  • more likely nowadays

Guilt that some people still feel nowadays can be reduced.

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Examples

  • Science used to be like that, but nowadays things have changed.

  • Science used to be like that, but nowadays things have changed.

  • The industry is different nowadays.

  • Everywhere I go nowadays someone asks about you.

  • You want to talk about a serious issue nowadays, people tune out.

  • It's hard to know who anyone is nowadays with all these masks people are wearing.

  • Everything you get shipped nowadays is full of plastic.

  • I doubt if people nowadays have knowledge of a victory garden or have seen an inchworm.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • But nowadays, thank goodness, it resembles something closer to, shall we say, a democracy.

  • The industry is different nowadays.

Synonyms

now
vsnowadays
1.0

At this exact moment or right away

expresses the general present period rather than a single instant
lately
vsnowadays
1.0

In the period just before now

focuses on the present time and ongoing situation instead of past events
currently
vsnowadays
1.0

At the present time

is broader, meaning the present period or era rather than current actions
presently
vsnowadays
87 2.6

At this time

refers to the broader present era rather than immediate timing
at present
vsnowadays
68 1.2

Now, not in the past or future

covers general present times, not only the immediate moment
in this day and age
vsnowadays
48 3.8

The present time, especially compared with the past

is a neutral present term without explicit contrast to the past
42 3.5

At the present time

expresses the wider present period rather than this specific point
today
vsnowadays
1.0

At the present time in general

is more general, focusing on present times rather than a single day
modernly
vsnowadays
6.0

At the present time

is broader and common, not limited to a modern emphasis

Antonyms

625 1.1

At an earlier time than now or the time mentioned

161 1.9

At an earlier time

How Current

today
1.0
currently
1.0
nowadays
267 1.3
previously
625 1.1

Surface Forms

nowadays positive

Morphology

nowadays = now + day (transparent) = now + day + s

The adverb is transparently built from 'now' + 'day(s)' meaning 'in the present days'; the archaic linking 'a' is not semantically productive but does not block understanding.

Etymology

The word nowadays comes from the old phrase now a days, which simply means 'now, in the days'. It joins now ('the present time') and days ('times'), so nowadays is used to talk about what is true 'at the present time'.