contrived

[kuhn-trahyvd]

adjective

1. obviously planned or forced; artificial; strained.

   a contrived story.

contrived

/ kənˈtraɪvd /

adjective

1. obviously planned, artificial, or lacking in spontaneity; forced; unnatural

Other Word Forms

• contrivedly adverb
• uncontrived adjective
• well-contrived adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of contrived¹

First recorded in 1505–15; contrive + -ed ²

Example Sentences

John Adams, the nation’s first vice president, declared the position to be “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived, or his imagination conceived.”

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Despite this catalog of current and easily predictable future horrors, America keeps up a façade of normality: the manic cheerfulness of TV newscasters, the moronic sitcoms, the contrived crime dramas.

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This was a huge deal for a contrived unscripted series that simulates the search for love and romance; rarely do contestants find the real thing.

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The Guardian is relatively kinder, summing up Season 2 as “so painfully contrived that it’s genuinely fascinating.”

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With the Proteas recommencing their first innings on the fifth day Cronje - prompted by a bookie named Marlon Aronstam - contrived an unprecedented innings forfeiture for both sides to ensure a result.

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Related Words

• false 
• phony