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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Contrive \Con*trive"\ (k[o^]n*tr[imac]v"), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Contrived}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Contriving}.] [OE. contriven, contreven, controven, to invent, OF. controver, contruver; con- + trouver to find. See {Troubadour}, {trover}.] To form by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise; to invent; to design; to plan.
What more likely to contrive this admirable frame of the universe than infinite wisdom. --Tillotson.
neither do thou imagine that I shall contrive aught against his life. --Hawthorne.
Syn: To invent; discover; plan; design; project; plot; concert; hatch.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
contrived
adjective
1: showing effects of planning or manipulation; "a novel with a contrived ending"
2: artificially formal; "that artificial humility that her husband hated"; "contrived coyness"; "a stilted letter of acknowledgment"; "when people try to correct their speech they develop a stilted pronunciation" [syn: {artificial}, {hokey}, {stilted}]
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |