The meaning of CONTRIVE is devise, plan. How to use contrive in a sentence.

CONTRIVE definition: to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent. See examples of contrive used in a sentence.

Inventing, designing and innovation (Definition of contrive from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

If you contrive an event or situation, you succeed in making it happen, often by tricking someone.

1. to plan with ingenuity; devise; invent: to contrive a means of escape. 2. to bring about by a plan, scheme, etc.; manage: He contrived to gain their votes. 3. to plot (evil, treachery, etc.).

Sep 2, 2025 · To contrive means to plan, invent, or devise something, often with a sense of skill, cleverness, or even trickery. It usually implies creating something that is tricky or difficult to …

When you contrive, you make a plan or a plot. It may take you longer to contrive your way out of doing your homework than would to actually do it. Even though contrive often has a false or …

Synonyms for CONTRIVE: devise, concoct, invent, construct, design, manufacture, produce, think (up); Antonyms of CONTRIVE: imitate, reproduce, replicate, mimic, copy, duplicate, clone, …

To contrive means to create or invent something in a clever or skillful way. It can also refer to devising a plan or scheme, often with a sense of cunning or deception.

[ + to do sth ] They contrived to meet in secret. (Definition of contrive from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)