contrive
/kənˈtɹaɪv/
contrive verb: to invent by an exercise of ingeniosity; to devise.
Verb
contrive (third-person singular simple present contrives, present participle contriving, simple past and past participle contrived)
- To invent by an exercise of ingeniosity; to devise
- […]I cannot bear the idea of two young women traveling post by themselves. It is highly improper. You must contrive to send somebody.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
- Neither do thou imagine that I shall contrive aught against his life.1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
- To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation.
- To project, cast, or set forth, as in a projection of light.
- To spend (time, or a period).
contrive meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
contrive in Tamil
- திட்டமிடு, கண்டறி
contrive in Urdu
- فکر کرنا, جوڑ توڑ کرنا, منصوبہ بنانا, ترکیب لڑانا
contrive in Bengali
- উদ্ভাবন করা, ফন্দি আঁটা
contrive in Malayalam
- കണ്ടുപിടിക്കുക, ആസൂത്രണം ചെയ്യുക, സാധ്യമാക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- contrive in Kannada
- ಕಂಡುಹಿಡಿ, ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳು, ಉಪಾಯಮಾಡು, ಕೌಶಲದಿಂದ ಯೋಜಿಸು
- contrive in Sanskrit
- विधा vidhā
Examples of contrive in a sentence
- His girlfriend, his mother, and the Society of Vampires contrive to make his new unlife difficult.
- The offense could contrive a variety of laydowns to intensify the defense's problems.
- For, of all contriving to encover space, the arch — alone or 'circulared' into the dome — is the most ingenious.
Synonyms of contrive
Forms of contrive
| third-person singular present | contrives |
|---|---|
| present participle | contriving |
| past participle | contrived |
| past | contrived |
Origin of contrive
From Middle English contreve (“to invent”), from Old French controver (Modern French controuver), from trover (“to find”) (French trouver).
Words formed from contrive
Words that rhyme with contrive
34 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about contrive
- What does contrive mean?
- Contrive means to invent by an exercise of ingeniosity; to devise.
- What is contrive in Tamil?
- Contrive in Tamil is திட்டமிடு, கண்டறி. See Contrive meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is contrive?
- Contrive is a verb.
- How do you pronounce contrive?
- Contrive is pronounced /kənˈtɹaɪv/.
- What is the past tense of contrive?
- The past tense of contrive is contrived.
Words near contrive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contrive (page history and authors); contrive (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contrive (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Contrive (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contrive (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); contrive (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); विधा (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “contrive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contrive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.