contrived
adjective
con·trived
kən-ˈtrīvd 
: having an unnatural or false appearance or quality : artificial, labored
a contrived plot
Synonyms
Examples of contrived in a Sentence
… it may remind readers of Christopher Nolan's ingeniously contrived mystery film "Memento" …
—
Joyce Carol Oates, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2005
The music industry has become far more image conscious and contrived since her first album affected me so profoundly …
—Lisa Marie Presley, Time, 18 Apr. 2005
There are some who scorn that sterling art form, the afternoon soap opera, alleging that its characters are unbelievable, its plots contrived and its action negligible.
—Lydel Sims, Assignment: Memphis, 1982
The movie's contrived ending was a big disappointment.
The results of the test seemed somewhat contrived.
Joyce Carol Oates, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2005
The music industry has become far more image conscious and contrived since her first album affected me so profoundly …
—Lisa Marie Presley, Time, 18 Apr. 2005
There are some who scorn that sterling art form, the afternoon soap opera, alleging that its characters are unbelievable, its plots contrived and its action negligible.
—Lydel Sims, Assignment: Memphis, 1982
The movie's contrived ending was a big disappointment.
The results of the test seemed somewhat contrived.
Recent Examples on the Web
Worse still, if the negation of the axiom of choice were true, there wouldn’t just be a few (very contrived) examples of sets that can’t be measured—the whole theory of measurement would collapse!
—Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024
A lot of reality shows are people who just met for the sake of the show, these contrived situations.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024
Back then, however, the orthodox view regarded secrecy as concealment in social interaction, a definition that forced experimenters into contrived scenarios.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 15 Oct. 2024
While such generalizations have historically been used to demonize enemies, there is still a contrived tendency to divide the world into land and sea powers.
—Colin Flint, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrived 
Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2024
A lot of reality shows are people who just met for the sake of the show, these contrived situations.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024
Back then, however, the orthodox view regarded secrecy as concealment in social interaction, a definition that forced experimenters into contrived scenarios.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 15 Oct. 2024
While such generalizations have historically been used to demonize enemies, there is still a contrived tendency to divide the world into land and sea powers.
—Colin Flint, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrived
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contrived.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Contrived.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrived. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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