contrived
adjective
con·trived
kən-ˈtrīvd 
: having an unnatural or false appearance or quality : artificial, labored
a contrived plot
Synonyms
Examples of contrived in a Sentence
… it may remind readers of Christopher Nolan's ingeniously contrived mystery film "Memento" …
—
Joyce Carol Oates, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2005
The music industry has become far more image conscious and contrived since her first album affected me so profoundly …
—Lisa Marie Presley, Time, 18 Apr. 2005
There are some who scorn that sterling art form, the afternoon soap opera, alleging that its characters are unbelievable, its plots contrived and its action negligible.
—Lydel Sims, Assignment: Memphis, 1982
The movie's contrived ending was a big disappointment.
The results of the test seemed somewhat contrived.
Joyce Carol Oates, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2005
The music industry has become far more image conscious and contrived since her first album affected me so profoundly …
—Lisa Marie Presley, Time, 18 Apr. 2005
There are some who scorn that sterling art form, the afternoon soap opera, alleging that its characters are unbelievable, its plots contrived and its action negligible.
—Lydel Sims, Assignment: Memphis, 1982
The movie's contrived ending was a big disappointment.
The results of the test seemed somewhat contrived.
Recent Examples on the Web
The thing is, since o1 is only displaying a contrived chain-of-thought, this means that there is a chance now for AI hallucinations to appear in the visible chain-of-thought.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
That’s the contrived premise of J.J. Perry’s action-comedy, which even manages to throw some romance into its high-concept mix.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2024
There's something to be said for a film that delivers on its simple conceit without any need for contrived plot gymnastics to keep its lovers apart.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 10 Sep. 2024
Facing expulsion for a variety of highly contrived reasons, these difficult-to-corral undergraduates, each studying a different artistic discipline, are required to participate in a play on a chapter of art history that most don’t see the point of studying.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrived 
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024
That’s the contrived premise of J.J. Perry’s action-comedy, which even manages to throw some romance into its high-concept mix.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2024
There's something to be said for a film that delivers on its simple conceit without any need for contrived plot gymnastics to keep its lovers apart.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 10 Sep. 2024
Facing expulsion for a variety of highly contrived reasons, these difficult-to-corral undergraduates, each studying a different artistic discipline, are required to participate in a play on a chapter of art history that most don’t see the point of studying.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for contrived
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contrived.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Contrived.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrived. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.
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