1
as in devising
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
contrived abstract metal sculptures using old household utensils
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in plotting
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
3
as in negotiating
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contriving
Verb
-
One of the biggest difficulties in devising laws on the topic of AI for mental health involves defining what constitutes AI for mental health.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025 -
Bob-Waksberg and his collaborators retain their impressive gift for devising ludicrous comic set pieces to go alongside the heavier material.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The Kremlin rejected the allegation, stressing that Putin was not plotting against Washington.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The case became even more horrifying when he was accused of plotting to silence a key witness.—
Doc Louallen,
ABC News,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
On Tinder alone, men dominate the active user base, which gives women more choice and negotiating power.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Brown as the crafty Pauline is the true scene stealer, negotiating terms of terror herself.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Not only is the kitchen fully on display but a separate alcove is given over to his highly technical lab, a play space dedicated to fermentation, aging, preserving and otherwise concocting.—
Ann Abel,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
That isn't stopping Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report from concocting a massive trade proposal that would send the nine-time All-Star to the New York Knicks.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Around the country, arranging for housing is a relatively new and growing challenge for such PACE groups, which are funded through Medicaid and Medicare.—
Felice J. Freyer,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
-
One study — admittedly small and enabled by the hack of affair-arranging app Ashley Madison in 2015 — found that companies whose CEOs or CFOs were paying users of the site were twice as likely to have had a financial misstatement or involvement in a securities class action.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This approach requires constructing a clear, detailed vision of what the organization could look like once AI is embedded into its operating model.—
Peter Bendor-Samuel,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The research team attempted to show the practical application of their idea by constructing a green wall made of 56 plants that produced enough light to see text, images and a person located up to 10 centimeters (four inches) away, according to the study.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Was Prater manipulating evidence?—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
-
One was based on hard-coding logical rules for categorizing inputs into symbols and then for manipulating those symbols to arrive at outputs.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Yet, bizarrely, the TV show undercuts this angle by inventing a serial killer nurse from whole cloth, a move that shifts the blame away from systemic forces and toward a motiveless scoundrel.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Despite his resistance to participating in yet another documentary—and the show’s underuse of him, in what is either a callback to The Office or a failure to learn from its mistakes—Oscar ends up inventing number games.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
3 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Contriving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contriving. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share