contrivance
Americannoun
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something contrived; a device, especially a mechanical one.
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the act or manner of contriving; the faculty or power of contriving.
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a plan or scheme; expedient.
noun
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something contrived, esp an ingenious device; contraption
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the act or faculty of devising or adapting; inventive skill or ability
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an artificial rather than natural selection or arrangement of details, parts, etc
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an elaborate or deceitful plan or expedient; stratagem
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of contrivance
Explanation
A contrivance is a gadget or device that can be used for some particular purpose. The spinning blade of a blender is a contrivance that turns fruits and yogurt into a tasty smoothie. Yum. A contrivance is a useful device or tool. It might be assembled or invented, and it's often mechanical, although you can really refer to anything that's made for a specific purpose as a contrivance. The word sometimes also implies a falseness or obviousness, like the contrivance of a spy's very fake-looking beard that's supposed to disguise him, or the contrivance of a novel's complicated, unbelievable plot.
Vocabulary lists containing contrivance
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards
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"'Blaxicans' and Other Reinvented Americans," Vocabulary from the argument
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Bless Me, Ultima
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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.
And when the star is a legend on the level of Reiner, the contrivance can be even riskier.
From Salon • Dec. 21, 2025
Someone makes a jokey reference to the cartoon contrivance of “Scooby-Doo,” and the comparison is brutally apt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
"The whole thing hangs on contrivance and familiarity, not characters, so the fights don’t seem to matter much."
From BBC • Nov. 11, 2024
As the prosecution described it, the case that faces a man who made his Hollywood name with the artificial drama of “The Apprentice” needs no contrivance.
From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2024
Every earth-digger and mechanical contrivance in the country had been mobilized to dig the colossal hole in which the nine giants were to be permanently imprisoned.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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.
