Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act of contriving.
- n. The state of being contrived.
- n. Something contrived, as a mechanical device or a clever plan.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The act of contriving, inventing, devising, or planning the disposition or combination of things or acts, for a particular purpose.
- n. The thing contrived, planned, or invented; a device, especially a mechanical one; an artifice; a scheme; a stratagem.
- n. Synonyms 2. Plan, invention, design; machination, stratagem; Device, Shift, etc. See expedient, n.
Wiktionary
- n. a (mechanical) device to perform a certain task
- n. a means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective
- n. something overly artful or artificial
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or planning.
- n. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; artifice; arrangement.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade
- n. an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement of details or parts etc.
- n. any improvised arrangement for temporary use
- n. the faculty of contriving; inventive skill
- n. the act of devising something
- n. a device or control that is very useful for a particular job
Etymologies
- contrive + -ance (Wiktionary)
Examples
“When the level of narrative contrivance is such that anything can happen or be forgotten in the space of a week, then nothing matters.”
“The contrivance is seen to hold a function, and it is recognized by its inherent design.”
“A contrivance is some abstract contortion that is said to describe reality, except that the contrivance comes with a felt emotionality that may invite deeper revelation, or the emotionality may come off as deceptive.”
“Although the Down East accents of the lyrics are a Hammerstein contrivance, the setting is harshly realistic in ways we tend to forget, perhaps because we usually think of Maine as a scenic travel destination.”
“What else would you call a contrivance that can take you to cities where ancient civilizations once flourished?”
“Sir Thomas had indeed proposed to her at the ball, an event which reflected great credit on her mama's sagacity, if not upon her skill in contrivance; I rather incline to the belief that she had first laid her plans, and then predicted their success.”
“The life of this contrivance is short when used in open stopes, owing to the dangers of bombardment from blasting.”
Principles of Mining Valuation, Organization and Administration
“All mechanical contrivance is habit materialised; it is continued action without any effort of will, except in the beginning.”
“The contrivance is wonderful, the design being laid by infinite wisdom; the performance is wonderful, being put in execution by infinite power.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“Therefore, speculation and conjecture create the contrivance, which is promoted (continuously, mind you) as the controversy, and then wrapped in the 'nobleness' of a conspiracy – period. by”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘contrivance’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
-
common UA vocab. in US
Interesting, there is a traditional vocabulary of an Ukrainian, that differs from vocabulary of average American. It would be nice to explore it.
jackdaw, incongruous, cassock, vivid, magpie, humdrum, amongst, wonder, wandering, wheedling, wheedle, osseous and 368 more...
-
Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2057 more...
-
Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 521 more...
-
Poetic
the blue hour, dinner-pail, long-drawn, pettifog, spoonmeat, crawler, eructate, voiced, medial, tessellated, eyeballs, amphigory and 48 more...
-
GRE 2013 V-list
-
NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
-
Aequoria's list
affect, deleterious, nuance, pliant, verbatim, pertinent, latter, municipality, provincial, voyeuristic, circumlocution, wane and 798 more...
-
Hitch Words
Words from the lexicon of Christopher Hitchens
propinquity, fratricide, factitious, vitiate, sectarianism, ostensible, atavistic, sephardic, doyen, palpable, encephalitic, fastidious and 188 more...
-
My List
A list of words that I have generated over time.
cairn, cacodaemoniacal, abash, abject, abjure, abstemious, abhor, abnegate, abnegation, abscond, abstruse, acclivity and 702 more...
-
Favourite Words
Just a bunch of words I like and wish I used more often in everyday speech.
adroit, soporific, ostensibly, prolific, auspicious, brio, mucilage, bromide, opprobrium, aplomb, invective, recalcitrant and 114 more...
-
Some Words I Love to Use
arcology, strumpet, crux, confected, pedant, bluestocking, cogitation, incensed, lovecraftian, cygnet, dactyl, adytum and 539 more...
-
List for Test Day
heresy, reversion, predilection, pedagogy, disparate, virtuous, refurbish, efficaciously, provenance, heckler, amorphous, epitome and 236 more...
-
2011 July
New words
correspondent, promulgate, transgress, trite, ravine, corespondent, contrivance, contrive, expedient, conducive, clairvoyance, difform and 184 more...
-
GRE
predisposed, browbeaten, hegemonic, corollary, mendacity, remnant, futile, touchstone, upshot, intuition, perseverance, perk and 214 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for contrivance.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.