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
To update all this for the present, there are some contrived explanations — the girls made the burn book during a period in middle school where their teachers banned phone use — as well as a heavy ladling of references to the internet.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for contrived 
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.
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for contrived
Articles Related to contrived
Dictionary Entries Near contrived
Cite this Entry
“Contrived.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrived. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share