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contrivance
4 dictionary results for: Contrivance
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
con·triv·ance       [kuhn-trahy-vuhns] 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.
[Origin: 1620–30; contrive + -ance]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
con·triv·ance       (kən-trī'vəns)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. The act of contriving.
    2. The state of being contrived.
  2. Something contrived, as a mechanical device or a clever plan.

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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.
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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.
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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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