contrived
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
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
Most infamously, Cronje contrived to lose a rain-affected Test against England in 2000.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 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
Hagrid’s face darkened and Harry knew why: Tom Riddle had contrived to have Hagrid thrown out of school, blamed for opening the Chamber of Secrets.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
