contrive

verb

con·​trive kən-ˈtrīv 

contrived; contriving

transitive verb

1

a

: devise, plan

contrive ways of handling the situation

The prisoners contrived a way to escape.

b

: to form or create in an artistic or ingenious manner

contrived household utensils from stone

Native Americans contrived weapons out of stone, wood, and bone.

2

: to bring about by stratagem or with difficulty : manage

he contrived to win their support

intransitive verb

: to make schemes

contriver noun

Synonyms

• concoct
• construct
• cook (up)
• devise
• drum up
• excogitate
• fabricate
• invent
• make up
• manufacture
• think (up)
• trump up
• vamp (up)

Examples of contrive in a Sentence

The prisoners contrived a way to escape.

He contrived a meeting with the president.

Recent Examples on the Web

But while none of these scenes would look out of place on a postcard, there’s nothing contrived about Pittenweem. —Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 4 Oct. 2024

Trump shot back, claiming that her crowd sizes are contrived. —Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Sep. 2024

And while there’s no real need for this story to top out at nearly two hours in length, the editing, from Béatrice Herminie and Pierre Deschamps, keeps a measured pace that neither flags nor contrives some sort of artificial momentum. —Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024

This contrived metaphor gets brought back in the film’s final scene, a moment of purposeful absurdity that feels like more of a silly joke than anything particularly revealing. —Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 26 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English controven, contreven, from Anglo-French controver, contrever, from Medieval Latin contropare to compare, from Latin com- + Vulgar Latin *tropare to compose, find — more at troubadour

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

contrive

verb

con·​trive kən-ˈtrīv 

contrived; contriving

1

: plan entry 2 sense 1, plot

contrive a way to escape

2

: to form or make in a skillful or clever way : invent

3

: bring about, manage

contriving to make ends meet

contriver noun