contrive
Americanverb (used with object)
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contrives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
contrived,
past participle, past
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contriving
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
contrives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
contrived,
past participle, past
-
contriving
present participle
-
to form designs; plan.
-
to plot.
- Synonyms:
- connive
verb
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(tr) to manage (something or to do something), esp by means of a trick; engineer
he contrived to make them meet
-
(tr) to think up or adapt ingeniously or elaborately
he contrived a new mast for the boat
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to plot or scheme (treachery, evil, etc)
Synonym Usage
See prepare.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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contrivesimple
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contrivessimple
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have contrivedperfect
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has contrivedperfect
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am contrivingprogressive
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are contrivingprogressive
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is contrivingprogressive
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have been contrivingperfect progressive
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has been contrivingperfect progressive
Past
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contrivedsimple
-
had contrivedperfect
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was contrivingprogressive
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were contrivingprogressive
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had been contrivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of contrive
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English contreven, from Middle French contreuv-, tonic stem of controver “to devise, invent,” Old French: “to decide, agree upon,” from Late Latin contropāre “to compare,” equivalent to con- con- + (unattested) tropāre (becoming French trouver “to find”; see trover); development of vowel unclear
Explanation
When you contrive, you make a plan or a plot. It may take you longer to contrive your way out of doing your homework than would to actually do it. Even though contrive often has a false or cunning feel to it, it is not always a bad thing. Mental effort is always required though, as contrive is often used in connection with inventing schemes and plans to make something happen. Contraption, a complicated mysterious device that does something, is related to contrive. Have you ever seen a Rube Goldberg contraption? When you contrive to do something, your plan may end up being that complicated.
Vocabulary lists containing contrive
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They can dominate chunks of a game with their excellence and then contrive to lose that same game with their mental wobbles.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
Others applauded that decision, content not to trot out their work-party ensemble and contrive the holiday cheer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
The author’s few attempts at regret or self-reflection don’t land, nor do her efforts to contrive a kind of contemporary, Didion-inspired journalistic style that mixes meticulous observation with first-person intimacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025
One of the first things McCartney did when he took over the Buffs in 1982 was contrive a rivalry with Nebraska and ban red in the football building.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
‘There will be no escape again, if we do not contrive it. How that is to be done cannot be guessed, but first we must overtake them.’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
So even if the U.S. somehow contrives to lose to Paraguay, draw with Australia, and lose to Turkey, for example, it’s highly likely they’ll get into the Round of 16.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
With the younger son taking over as jailer, this goes on for a century, until Dream contrives to escape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2022
A couple of times in this short and occasionally exhilarating feature from Colombia, its director, Camilo Restrepo, contrives striking visual juxtapositions.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2022
And while the Survivor season contrives to have its David come out ahead, White’s fictionalized version offers no such assurances about the triumph of the underdog.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2021
Technical proofs are the arguments that the orator contrives.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Scenes designed to advance the plot feel more contrived than ones in which characters just share thoughts and feelings, but there are plenty of those.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
I’m wondering if the justices are themselves creating these absurd notions or if appellate advocates are suggesting and steering the justices toward these contrived ways of thinking.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
An independent disciplinary commission ruled at the time that the espionage was authorised by Eckert and was a "contrived and determined plan from the top down".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
His naiveté begins to feel contrived, a way to preserve a hazy aura of romance and menace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Ere long, with the servant’s aid, I contrived to mount a staircase; my dripping clothes were removed; soon a warm, dry bed received me.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
The FDA implicitly concedes that the RP1 results are impressive by contriving ridiculous reasons to argue they could be exaggerated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Redondo hit the post twice in a matter of seconds - first seeing her header brilliantly tipped on to the woodwork by Daphne van Domselaar, before contriving to turn the rebound off the same upright.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2023
Perhaps his primary knack was for contriving a tension between immaculate optics and human entropy.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2023
But I wonder if such a connection can even be made between then and our friendship now, or if I’m contriving it to appease in me some compulsion for closure.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2021
We worked by contriving intricate and open-ended emotional conspiracies.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
