1
as in gadget
an interesting and often novel device with a practical use
a new contrivance for cleaning computer keyboards
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2
as in invention
something (as a device) created for the first time through the use of the imagination
despite the many modern contrivances for saving time and labor, we seem to have less leisure and energy than ever before
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in imagination
the ability to form mental images of things that either are not physically present or have never been conceived or created by others
in that writer's hands, narrative contrivance can often deteriorate into pointless gimmickry
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of contrivance
This near-calamity really smells of authorial contrivance to get the two principals to meet in person, while further comic hijinks jerry-rigged to drive the couple further together are no less fragrant.
—
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
The reader wonders if their mutual faith in hideous cars driven by strangers isn’t a contrivance at all, but a familial trait.
Of the siblings’ many mishaps, the most poetic occurs when they’re forced to swap rental cars after an accident.
—Bobby Finger, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Measuring a president at 100 days is something of a contrivance that is based on a marker set during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term back in the 1930s.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2025
This should play as a melodramatic contrivance — along with the possibility that the shooter could be an angry incel teen named David whom Robby saw at the start of his shift.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contrivance
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
The reader wonders if their mutual faith in hideous cars driven by strangers isn’t a contrivance at all, but a familial trait.
Of the siblings’ many mishaps, the most poetic occurs when they’re forced to swap rental cars after an accident.
—Bobby Finger, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Measuring a president at 100 days is something of a contrivance that is based on a marker set during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term back in the 1930s.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2025
This should play as a melodramatic contrivance — along with the possibility that the shooter could be an angry incel teen named David whom Robby saw at the start of his shift.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contrivance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contrivance
Noun
-
The middle aisle is restocked with home goods, organizers, candles, cleaning gadgets, even clothing and shoes, and new ALDI food items are stocked on the shelves, perched and ready for the deals to be snapped up by customers.—
Rebecca Jones,
Southern Living,
30 Sep. 2025
-
If a specific style or gadget encourages you to drink more, that’s great.—
Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Out of this mess came the last great invention of the twentieth century.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Jacques Cousteau’s 1949 aqualung invention spurred a new era of undersea activity.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This view, for me at least, more than anything else connects the dots of our historically informed imagination.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
-
As his imagination grows into vast cities and impossible creatures, fantasy blurs with reality.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Having a familiar presence like Joan at Westside Hospital is a helpful tool for Amy, who’s still rebuilding her life after the season 1 car crash that left her with a traumatic brain injury, wiping her memories of the previous eight years.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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Movies That Don’t Exist, a native digital format created and directed by Hernández, where AI becomes an experimental tool that amplifies creativity and connects with audiences through his YouTube channel, with over 3 million subscribers.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
While OpenAI says that scaling is key to driving innovation and future AI breakthroughs, investors and analysts are beginning to raise their eyebrows over the mindboggling sums.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Made in Africa is a monthly column by Rolling Stone staff writer Mankaprr Conteh that celebrates and interrogates the lives, concerns, and innovations of cultural workers of the African diaspora from their vantage point.—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Upon the closing of the legendary hatch, a virtual hurricane blasted Goldberg inside the contraption, with Stitch gleefully running around its perimeter as Goldberg fished for a card holding the lucky number of one audience member who would ultimately win the trip.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Sep. 2025
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The team started by creating a nebulizer, or a contraption where Mahiri can stick her head into what looks like a multi-gallon jug with a large hole cut out of one side and a Tupperware attached to the other, the video shows.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In blending creativity with community, and in each collection and cause, Scott is passing her Texas spirit onward.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
27 Sep. 2025
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From streetwear to high fashion, the borough has a reputation for individuality and creativity.—
Christopher Claxton,
Billboard,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Contrivance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contrivance. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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