contrive

1 of 2

verb

con·​trive kən-ˈtrīv 

contrived; contriving; contrives

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 a device to smoke out moles …

—Jeff Heinz

2

: to bring about by stratagem or with difficulty : manage

He contrived to win their support.

intransitive verb

: to make schemes

contriver noun

contriver

2 of 2

noun

con·​triv·​er

kən-ˈtrīv-ər

plural -s

: one that contrives

hasty contriver of popular fiction

—A. C. Ward

contrivers of leisure-time activities

—Mary McCarthy

an excellent contriver in housekeeping

—Oliver Goldsmith

Synonyms of contrive

Verb

• devise
• concoct
• invent
• construct

Examples of contrive in a Sentence

Verb

The prisoners contrived a way to escape.

He contrived a meeting with the president.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

An ingenious means of admitting natural light has been contrived so that, during the daytime, parts of these wonderfully austere and stony subterranean cellars, which ought to be very dark indeed, remain softly radiant. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026

Stranded in a no-man’s land where everybody deplores toxic masculinity but the guys still need to be given something to do, the film doesn’t manage to contrive any actual fun. — Caspar Salmon, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026

The simple average of these deliveries is skewed by the 2023 Ashes, where more bouncers were bowled than in any Test on record, with England contriving repeatedly to lose wickets to the ball dug in short. — Ben Jones aug. 26, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Prosecutors say the former labor and delivery nurse planned the killings and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him to pick up medicine for one of their children and dinner for the family. — Michael Casey, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

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

First Known Use

Verb

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

Rhymes for contrive

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

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