devise
Americanverb (used with object)
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devises,
present (3rd person singular)
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devised,
past participle, past
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devising
present participle
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to contrive, plan, or elaborate; invent from existing principles or ideas.
to devise a method.
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Theater. to develop (a play) collaboratively with the performers.
Based on the lives of women in engineering, the students devised the play themselves.
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Law. to assign or transmit (property) by will.
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Archaic. to imagine; suppose.
verb (used without object)
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devises,
present (3rd person singular)
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devised,
past participle, past
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devising
present participle
noun
verb
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to work out, contrive, or plan (something) in one's mind
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(tr) law to dispose of (property, esp real property) by will
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obsolete (tr) to imagine or guess
noun
Synonym Usage
See prepare.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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devisesimple
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devisessimple
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have devisedperfect
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has devisedperfect
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am devisingprogressive
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are devisingprogressive
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is devisingprogressive
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have been devisingperfect progressive
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has been devisingperfect progressive
Past
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devisedsimple
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had devisedperfect
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was devisingprogressive
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were devisingprogressive
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had been devisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of devise
First recorded in 1150–1200; (verb) Middle English devisen “to inspect, design, compose,” from Old French deviser, from unattested Vulgar Latin dēvīsāre, for unattested dīvīsāre, frequentative of Latin dīvidere “to divide” ( see divide); (noun) see device
Explanation
To devise is to figure out a plan. Men twirling long mustaches might devise a plan to tie someone to the railroad tracks. To devise a plan is more than just making one; there's a lot of figuring out to do, such as: "Phoebe devised a bus route that picked up kids in alphabetical order." There's a method to the madness of devising. The chemistry class devised a plan to make the fire alarm go off. Devise can be positive, too, meaning to find a creative solution: "The design team devised a plan to make the trailer home look like a medieval castle."
Vocabulary lists containing devise
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Walk Two Moons
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The Things They Carried
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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:
"Diet holds great promise for controlling the microbiome and its outputs. But to devise effective therapeutic interventions, we need to understand what aspects of the diet control which microbial outputs."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
February 28: An FAA audit gives Boeing 90 days to devise a plan to significantly upgrade its quality control processes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
LAUSD’s action to devise new limits in April spurred interest in the issue across the nation, said Jodi Carreon, who co-runs the California chapter of the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project, a leader in the movement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
The closest he comes to a good old swipe at his former boss is this delicious line: “Trump did not devise the personal attack in politics, though he may have perfected it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
He went back to his room and desperately tried to devise a plan.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
He even devises a way to keep the goats corralled so that he doesn’t have to chase them down or use up his precious bullets and gunpowder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Rose Njeri was detained on Friday after police raided her home in the capital, Nairobi, and seized electronic devises, activists said.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2025
When other teachers begin to complain about having valuable items stolen in their lounge, she devises a trap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2023
He said he has no problem sharing the carries with the Jets in whatever role coordinator Nathaniel Hackett devises for him in his offense.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
He had joined the ranks of those ‘overcome with the incredible delight conceived of their own devises and inventions’.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
When the Secret Service devised a plan to transport Bill Clinton from India to Pakistan in 2000, it was similar to the plan that Trump employed on July 8.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Entertainment outlet Variety, citing insiders, said Ellison had devised a five-year plan to move the company from California, starting with its Los Angeles headquarters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
U.S. officials allegedly devised the ruse after they became concerned about an Iranian threat to target Trump as he left Turkey, which borders Iran.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
"In an attempt to solve the rehoming crisis, the racing industry had devised a program of sending retired greyhounds to the US and Canada," Field said.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Driver ants, Ebola virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome: all these are brooms devised by nature to sweep a small clearing very well.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
These credentials are meant to help workers prove they have skills like devising effective prompts or using AI for business strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
Twenty years ago, founders proudly eschewed fashion and decorum, too busy writing code and devising a new world order to bother with pleasantries, like basic manners and French cuffs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Barton builds up Mozart’s role, with emphasis on his home life, which he fills with discord and challenges of his own devising.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Before the war, Khamenei reportedly tasked Larijani with devising a plan to ensure that the Islamic Republic would survive a major attack by Israel and the US, including the assassination of its leadership.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
This outburst does little but boost the boy’s status in the eyes of his friends, who take to devising ingenious ways to irritate Mr. Curran without giving themselves away.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
