contrived; contriving; contrives
1
: to make schemes
contriver
noun
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
See All Example Sentences for contrive
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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
See All Example Sentences for contrive
Cite this Entry
“Contrive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrive. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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