contrive
Americanverb (used with object)
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contrives,
present (3rd person singular)
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contrived,
past participle, past
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contriving
present participle
verb (used without object)
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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
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(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
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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:
When a lady’s maid and a houseguest’s valet fall in love, they contrive to unite their incompatible employers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
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
He is sometimes inspired to make a poor choice, but, as with the silent comedians of old, the universe will contrive to save him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2024
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
The little collection of fruit- bearers growing by the river was his attempt to contrive, rain or no, a patch of the paradise, the green, apple-scented Eden, he envisioned.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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
Savoca contrives a wedding night as filled with rococo confections as the interior of a Palermo church.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
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
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
In a film full of contrived indignities, this is the most maddening, suggesting that anyone watching the film is no more clever than the “Fossil Fools” audience members.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Google said it disputed Common Sense Media’s methodology because it used “ambiguous and contrived queries.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
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
Oppenheimer duly contrived “an elegant theory to rationalize these results,” and when Bohr came for his visit, the work was trotted out for him as a showpiece of Rad Lab science.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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
Warren Zaire-Emery was punished for contriving to strike the post with the goal gaping as Mats Hummels arrowed in a towering header to score for Dortmund shortly after.
From BBC ● May 7, 2024
Perhaps his primary knack was for contriving a tension between immaculate optics and human entropy.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2023
Penalties should be imposed not only for lax adherence to the rules but also for excess severity in contriving them.
From Slate ● Jan. 19, 2023
I counted to one hundred as I rocked, contriving the patience to get one down in order to take up another.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
