contrive
verb (used with object)
to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent.
were contriving
-
past progressiveof contrive.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
And, what about the Sunderland players who at the very least were contriving to take the free-kick for a second time not at the point at which the offence was actually committed?
From The Guardian ● Sep. 27, 2010
He imagined that they were contriving against his own life, and included Serfojee in his hatred.
From Pioneers and Founders or, Recent Workers in the Mission field by Charlotte Mary Yonge
But, in that room, saurians, with titles as long as your arm, were contriving a cataclysm that was to exceed the deluge.
From The Paliser case by Edgar Saltus
The Americans of 1787 thought they were copying the English Constitution, but they were contriving a contrast to it.
From The English Constitution by Walter Bagehot
Thus the two mighty sons of Kronos, with contending will, were contriving sorrow and anguish for the heroes.
From The Iliad by Homer
