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contrive

 - 3 dictionary results

con⋅trive

  [kuhn-trahyv] verb, -trived, -triv⋅ing.
Use contrive in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent: The author contrived a clever plot.
2. to bring about or effect by a plan, scheme, or the like; manage: He contrived to gain their votes.
3. to plot (evil, treachery, etc.).
–verb (used without object)
4. to form designs; plan.
5. to plot.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME contreven < MF contreuv-, tonic s. of controver to devise, invent, OF: to decide, agree upon < LL contropāre to compare, equiv. to con- con- + *tropāre (> F trouver to find; see trover ); development of vowel unclear

Related forms:
con⋅triv⋅a⋅ble, adjective
con⋅triv⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. design, concoct. See prepare. 3. conspire, scheme. 5. connive.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To contrive
con·trive   (kən-trīv')   
v.   con·trived, con·triv·ing, con·trives

v.   tr.

  1. To plan with cleverness or ingenuity; devise: contrive ways to amuse the children.

  2. To invent or fabricate, especially by improvisation: contrived a swing from hanging vines.

  3. To plan with evil intent; scheme: contrived a plot to seize power.

  4. To bring about, as by scheming; manage: somehow contrived to get past the guards unnoticed.

v.   intr.
To form plans or schemes.

[Middle English contreven, from Old French controver, contreuv-, from Medieval Latin contropāre, to compare : Latin com-, com- + Latin tropus, turn, manner, style (from Greek tropos; see trep- in Indo-European roots).]
con·triv'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

contrive 
c.1325, from O.Fr. controver "to find out, contrive, imagine," from V.L. contropare "to compare" (via a figure of speech), from L. com- "with" + tropus "song, musical mode," from Gk. tropos "figure of speech" (see trope). Sense evolution (in Fr.) was from "invent with ingenuity" to "invent falsely."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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