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contrivance
4 dictionary results for: Contrivance
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
con·triv·ance
[kuh
n-trahy-vuh
ns] Pronunciation Key
[kuh
n-trahy-vuh
ns] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | something contrived; a device, esp. a mechanical one. |
| 2. | the act or manner of contriving; the faculty or power of contriving. |
| 3. | a plan or scheme; expedient. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| con·triv·ance
(kən-trī'vəns) Pronunciation Key
n.
|
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| contrivance | |
noun | |
| 1. | a device or control that is very useful for a particular job [syn: appliance] |
| 2. | the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful contrivance of answers to every problem" |
| 3. | an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track" |
| 4. | an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement of details or parts etc.; "the plot contained too many improbable contrivances to be believable" |
| 5. | any improvised arrangement for temporary use [syn: lash-up] |
| 6. | the act of devising something [syn: devisal] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Contrivance
Con*triv"ance\, n. 1. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or planning. The machine which we are inspecting demonstrates, by its construction, contrivance and design. Contrivance must have had a contriver. --Paley. 2. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; atrifice; arrangement. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. --Burke. Syn: Device; plan; scheme; invention; machine; project; design; artifice; shift. See Device.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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