contrive

verb

con·​trive kən-ˈtrīv 

contrived; contriving

transitive verb

1

a

: devise, plan

contrive ways of handling the situation

The prisoners contrived a way to escape.

b

: to form or create in an artistic or ingenious manner

contrived household utensils from stone

Native Americans contrived weapons out of stone, wood, and bone.

2

: to bring about by stratagem or with difficulty : manage

he contrived to win their support

intransitive verb

: to make schemes

contriver noun

Synonyms

• devise
• concoct
• invent
• construct

Examples of contrive in a Sentence

The prisoners contrived a way to escape.

He contrived a meeting with the president.

Recent Examples on the Web

The mystery is less about who’s involved in the game afoot, as alert audiences piecing together context clues will be immediately aware of those nefarious parties upon their introductions, and is more about the puzzling lengths the filmmakers go to in planting contrived red herrings. —Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025

Even if parts of the individual storylines still come across as contrived or at least dramatically convenient, the ending reminds and underlines that these things, and things far worse, happened in Israel on October 7, 2023. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025

Many legends who were part of the WNBA’s early years—the league debuted in 1997—have shared stories about how the fledgling brand stuffed star players into narrow feminine molds that sometimes felt contrived. —Timeka Tounsel, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Advertisement Scheming currently appears to be mostly limited to contrived test scenarios. —Tharin Pillay, Time, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English controven, contreven, from Anglo-French controver, contrever, from Medieval Latin contropare to compare, from Latin com- + Vulgar Latin *tropare to compose, find — more at troubadour

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for contrive

• alive
• archive
• arrive
• beehive
• connive
• deprive
• derive
• revive
• survive
• dive
• drive
• five

Kids Definition

contrive

verb

con·​trive kən-ˈtrīv 

contrived; contriving

1

: plan entry 2 sense 1, plot

contrive a way to escape

2

: to form or make in a skillful or clever way : invent

3

: bring about, manage

contriving to make ends meet

contriver noun