Overview of verb contrive

The verb contrive has 3 senses

• plan, project, contrive, design -- (make or work out a plan for; devise; "They contrived to murder their boss"; "design a new sales strategy"; "plan an attack")


• invent, contrive, devise, excogitate, formulate, forge -- (come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort; "excogitate a way to measure the speed of light")


• project, cast, contrive, throw -- (put or send forth; "She threw the flashlight beam into the corner"; "The setting sun threw long shadows"; "cast a spell"; "cast a warm light")

Overview of adj contrived

The adj contrived has 2 senses

• contrived -- (showing effects of planning or manipulation; "a novel with a contrived ending")


• artificial, contrived, hokey, stilted -- (artificially formal; "that artificial humility that her husband hated"; "contrived coyness"; "a stilted letter of acknowledgment"; "when people try to correct their speech they develop a stilted pronunciation")