contrive
verb (used with object)
to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent.
contrives
-
present tense formof contrive (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
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
The travel industry contrives all manner of ways to objectify the locals for the benefit of tourists on a quest for the extraordinary or the “authentic.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2022
A couple of times in this short and occasionally exhilarating feature from Colombia, its director, Camilo Restrepo, contrives striking visual juxtapositions.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2022
Lethem’s plot contrives for have Journeyman ride out the end of the world in a Maine idyll where people are both well-off and self-sufficient—a rarity in modern life.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2021
Technical proofs are the arguments that the orator contrives.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
