Synonyms of contrived

contrived 1 of 2

adjective

kən-ˈtrīvd 

as in strained

lacking in natural or spontaneous quality

the contrived applause of a TV studio audience that has been told when to clap

Synonyms & Similar Words

• strained
• mock
• unnatural
• false
• exaggerated
• fake
• simulated
• artificial
• mechanical
• affected
• forced
• pseudo
• assumed
• feigned
• spurious
• phony
• pretended
• factitious
• bogus
• plastic
• sham
• theatrical
• cute
• put-on
• hollow
• manufactured
• unreal
• deliberate
• calculated
• unrealistic
• empty
• fabricated
• concocted
• automatic
• insincere
• canned
• hypocritical
• labored
• formal
• hokey
• pat
• facile
• melodramatic
• stiff
• unauthentic
• conventional
• unctuous
• stylized
• wooden
• conscious
• impersonal
• cultivated
• premeditated
• histrionic
• overacted
• rigid
• mealy
• overdone
• mealymouthed
• two-faced
• artful
• studied
• cutesy
• double-dealing
• genteel
• inflexible
• simpering
• overrefined
• left-handed
• mincing
• goody-goody

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• spontaneous
• natural
• genuine
• real
• unaffected
• artless
• realistic
• true
• authentic
• bona fide
• right
• uncontrived
• unforced
• sincere
• ingenuous
• easy
• honest
• unfeigned
• smooth
• effortless
• instinctive
• unconscious
• impromptu
• extemporaneous
• impulsive
• unpretending
• unrehearsed
• unstudied
• unprompted

contrived

2 of 2

verb

past tense of contrive

1

as in concocted

to create or think of by clever use of the imagination

contrived abstract metal sculptures using old household utensils

Synonyms & Similar Words

• concocted
• devised
• constructed
• invented
• designed
• manufactured
• thought (up)
• produced
• cooked (up)
• fabricated
• came up with
• made up
• hatched
• excogitated
• conceived
• trumped up
• vamped (up)
• imagined
• envisioned
• improvised
• drummed up
• dreamed
• visualized
• coined
• envisaged
• fantasized
• daydreamed
• visioned
• extemporized
• ad-libbed
• pictured

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• copied
• duplicated
• reproduced
• mimicked
• imitated
• replicated
• cloned
• reduplicated
• copycatted

2

as in plotted

to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends

the mischievous boys were always contriving and trying to pull the prank that would be the talk of the school

Synonyms & Similar Words

• plotted
• schemed
• planned
• conspired
• connived
• intrigued
• colluded
• machinated
• engineered
• concocted
• devised
• designed
• manipulated
• compassed
• hatched
• put up
• cooked (up)
• counterplotted
• maneuvered
• brewed
• shaped
• mapped
• laid out
• framed
• jockeyed

3

as in negotiated

to plan out usually with subtle skill or care

contrived a way of planning the surprise party without their catching on to it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• negotiated
• manipulated
• engineered
• arranged
• plotted
• managed
• maneuvered
• masterminded
• framed
• concluded
• finessed
• wangled
• machinated
• finagled
• concocted
• concerted
• schemed
• worked out
• hammered out
• intrigued
• conducted
• connived
• hatched
• directed
• handled
• angled (for)
• cooked (up)
• brewed
• compassed
• commanded
• gerrymandered
• captained
• ran
• quarterbacked

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bungled
• mangled
• butchered
• botched
• fumbled
• blew
• mishandled
• messed (up)
• muffed
• gummed (up)
• flubbed
• bobbled
• loused up

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of contrived

Adjective

The signs were widely criticized as contrived and Green’s protest was something of a distraction. —Steve Peoples, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026

Truth is, a contrived event will never enhance Jokic’s legacy. —Troy Renck, Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2026

Verb

This time, specific references were stripped away, leaving only a distillation of the dark rage evoked by metal and punk, equal parts elemental and contrived. —Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026

Someone’s phone is always vibrating, a gimmick that often strikes me as contrived in a movie-movie but feels totally normalized in a reality-movie like The Moment. —Anna Gaca, Pitchfork, 30 Jan. 2026