contrived
Use Contrived in a sentence
adjective
obviously planned or forced; artificial; strained: a contrived story.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
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; Middle English contreven < Middle French contreuv-, tonic stem of controver to devise, invent, Old French: to decide, agree upon < Late Latin contropāre to compare, equivalent to con- con- + *tropāre (> French trouver to find; see trover); development of vowel unclear
1275–1325; Middle English contreven < Middle French contreuv-, tonic stem of controver to devise, invent, Old French: to decide, agree upon < Late Latin contropāre to compare, equivalent to con- con- + *tropāre (> French trouver to find; see trover); development of vowel unclear
Related forms
con·triv·a·ble, adjective
con·triv·er, noun
pre·con·trive, verb, pre·con·trived, pre·con·triv·ing.
un·con·triv·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To contrived
00:10
Contrived
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
contrive (kənˈtraɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (tr) to manage (something or to do something), esp by means of a trick; engineer: he contrived to make them meet |
| 2. | (tr) to think up or adapt ingeniously or elaborately: he contrived a new mast for the boat |
| 3. | to plot or scheme (treachery, evil, etc) |
| [C14: from Old French controver, from Late Latin contropāre to represent by figures of speech, compare, from Latin com- together + tropus figure of speech, | |
| con'trivable | |
| —adj | |
| con'triver | |
| —n | |
| contrived (kənˈtraɪvd) | |
| —adj | |
| obviously planned, artificial, or lacking in spontaneity; forced; unnatural | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
contrive
early 14c., 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 French) was from "invent with
ingenuity" to "invent falsely." Related: Contrived (c.1400); contriving (early 14c.); contrivance (1620s).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
Both crosses, accidental and contrived, remained in place.
Some of that control was enforced through political power or contrived through mercantile guile.
There is nothing contrived or manipulative about her work.
Everything in the piece is contrived to promote disapproval rather than understanding.
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