contrived
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- contrivedly adverb
- uncontrived adjective
- well-contrived adjective
Etymology
Origin of contrived
Explanation
If you see something that seems fake since it was too perfectly planned out, call it contrived. If you can easily predict the final minutes of a made-for-TV movie, then call it contrived. The adjective contrived describes something that is artificially planned, especially in an obvious way, so it comes across as faked or forced. It's not just drama that can come off as contrived. Someone's speech habits, wardrobe, or even personality can seem contrived. Whenever someone appears as if he or she is "trying too hard," they might seem contrived, or the opposite of "natural."
Vocabulary lists containing contrived
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1984
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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.
Cooling their heels in a Venetian jail in 1755, Giacomo Casanova and the prisoner in the cell above him contrived one of the more imaginative escapes in the annals of criminology.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
He Gets Us has been running these strange, Jesus-themed commercials for multiple Super Bowls in a row now, and they’re only getting more contrived.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026
Guardiola must still be furious and frustrated at how City were so much in command at half-time with a two-goal advantage, yet somehow contrived to cast aside two points and almost lose all three.
From BBC • Feb. 1, 2026
But Ali Larijani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday: "Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing."
From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026
Alice turned and walked back to the cluster of stalls, her gait dainty and contrived, as though a misguided person had taught her how to walk “like a lady.”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
