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definitions

contrivance

[kuh n-trahy-vuh ns]
See more synonyms for contrivance on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. something contrived; a device, especially a mechanical one.
  2. the act or manner of contriving; the faculty or power of contriving.
  3. a plan or scheme; expedient.

Origin of contrivance

First recorded in 1620–30; contrive + -ance
Related formsnon·con·triv·ance, nounpre·con·triv·ance, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for contrivance

gimmick, ruse, artifice, contraption, dodge, stratagem, twist, angle, plot, machination, expedient, slant, project, trick, switch, invention, design, measure, formation, inventiveness

Examples from the Web for contrivance

Contemporary Examples of contrivance

Historical Examples of contrivance

  • This expedition up the mountain was entirely of his contrivance.

    The Miraculous Pitcher

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • The contrivance, if a contrivance, to get me away, so insolently mean!

    Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • Then he began to experiment, with some rude apparatus of his own contrivance.

    Self-Help

    Samuel Smiles

  • It was by his contrivance the girl had been sent from India.

    Henry Dunbar

    M. E. Braddon

  • Please, however, to note the contrivance which I adopt whenever I am in a difficulty of this sort.

British Dictionary definitions for contrivance

contrivance

noun
  1. something contrived, esp an ingenious device; contraption
  2. the act or faculty of devising or adapting; inventive skill or ability
  3. an artificial rather than natural selection or arrangement of details, parts, etc
  4. an elaborate or deceitful plan or expedient; stratagem
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for contrivance
n.

1620s, from contrive + -ance.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper