contrived

[ kuh n-trahyvd ]

/ kənˈtraɪvd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contrived ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

obviously planned or forced; artificial; strained: a contrived story.

Nearby words

contributory negligence, contrite, contrition, contrivance, contrive, contrived, control, control account, control board, control center, control character

Origin of contrived

First recorded in 1505–15; contrive + -ed²

Related forms

con·triv·ed·ly

[kuh n-trahy-vid-lee] /kənˌtraɪ vɪd li/, adverbun·con·trived, adjectivewell-con·trived, adjective

Definition for contrived (2 of 2)

contrive

[ kuhn-trahyv ]

/ kənˈtraɪv /

verb (used with object), con·trived, con·triv·ing.

to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent: The author contrived a clever plot.

to bring about or effect by a plan, scheme, or the like; manage: He contrived to gain their votes.

to plot (evil, treachery, etc.).

verb (used without object), con·trived, con·triv·ing.

to form designs; plan.

to plot.

Origin of contrive

1275–1325; Middle English contreven < Middle French contreuv-, tonic stem of controver to devise, invent, Old French: to decide, agree upon < Late Latin contropāre to compare, equivalent to con- con- + *tropāre (> French trouver to find; see trover); development of vowel unclear

SYNONYMS FOR contrive

1 design, concoct. See prepare.

3 conspire, scheme.

5 connive.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR contrive ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

con·triv·a·ble, adjectivecon·triv·er, nounpre·con·trive, verb, pre·con·trived, pre·con·triv·ing.un·con·triv·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for contrived

Bone was a highly competent managing editor, and contrived somehow to squeeze us into the tumultuous Post office.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire|H.L. Mencken|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or, worse, they are contrived to sound tired, perhaps in an attempt to come off as world-weary.
U2 Generously Gives Us a Lousy Album, Sucks at the Corporate Teat|Hampton Stevens|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The story is schematic and contrived rather than palpable and lived.
Ian McEwan's New Novel Keeps Life at Arm's Length|Nick Romeo|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How contrived that Modern Family would end its season finale with the tried-and-true sitcom trope: a wedding.
Modern Family’s Big, Gay (and Important) Wedding|Kevin Fallon|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The right always whines about its contrived war on Christmas.
The War on Thanksgiving|Dean Obeidallah|November 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mary had contrived to quiet her lover with considerable propriety of demeanour.
Doctor Thorne|Anthony Trollope
He contrived, through Aunt Dilsey, to convey a note to the girl.
Crestlands|Mary Addams Bayne
How Abraham and Sarah contrived to hold fast so many thousand servants against their wills, we are left quite in the dark.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus|American Anti-Slavery Society
In this way I contrived to come within twenty feet without alarming him.
Golden Days for Boys and Girls|Various
The barge in which Agrippina was thus invited to embark, was the treacherous trap that Anicetus had contrived for her destruction.
Nero|Jacob Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for contrived (1 of 2)

contrived

/ (kənˈtraɪvd) /

adjective

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

British Dictionary definitions for contrived (2 of 2)

contrive

/ (kənˈtraɪv) /

verb

(tr) to manage (something or to do something), esp by means of a trick; engineerhe contrived to make them meet

(tr) to think up or adapt ingeniously or elaboratelyhe contrived a new mast for the boat

to plot or scheme (treachery, evil, etc)

Derived Forms

contrivable, adjectivecontriver, noun

Word Origin for contrive

C14: from Old French controver, from Late Latin contropāre to represent by figures of speech, compare, from Latin com- together + tropus figure of speech, trope

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