contrive

[ kuhn-trahyv ]

See synonyms for: contrive contrived contriving contrivable on Thesaurus.com

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

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

synonym study For contrive

1. See prepare.

Other words for contrive

1	design, concoct
3	conspire, scheme
5	connive

See synonyms for contrive on Thesaurus.com

Other words from contrive

con·triv·a·ble, adjective
con·triv·er, noun
pre·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. 2023

How to use contrive in a sentence

This contriver of miracles, of a countenance at once sanctimonious, artful and sly, preceded other prelates carrying banners.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne Sue
Black Will had been mutilated, and Walker nearly drowned, but "the close contriver of all harms" had kept out of harm's way.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles Reade
Who was John McDonogh, the maker of the foregoing will, and contriver of such a grand scheme of charity?
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No. 2, August, 1862 | Various
If I wasn't such a good contriver, we should look more like paupers than respectable people.
Grif | B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon
Amphares, the chief of these, and the contriver of the plot, was one of the new ephori created after the deposition of Agesilaus.
Reflections on the Rise and Fall of the Ancient Republicks | Edward Wortley Montagu

British Dictionary definitions for contrive

contrive

/ (kənˈtraɪv) /

verb

(tr) to manage (something or to do something), esp by means of a trick; engineer: he contrived to make them meet
(tr) to think up or adapt ingeniously or elaborately: he contrived a new mast for the boat

to plot or scheme (treachery, evil, etc)

Origin of 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

Derived forms of contrive

contrivable, adjective
contriver, noun

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

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