Past tense of contrive
regular verb
The past tense of contrive is contrived. The past participle is also contrived.
Forms of contrive
| Base form (V1) | contrive /kənˈtɹaɪv/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | contrived /kənˈtɹaɪvd/ |
| Past participle (V3) | contrived /kənˈtɹaɪvd/ |
| Present participle | contriving |
| Third person singular | contrives |
Contrived in a sentence
- I am expected to live up to the contrived standards of the society.2015, Sajith Buvi, I Am 7.5 Billion Human, page 49. From the entry expect
- However, like spoken languages, they arise within a community, and are not contrived systems of communication.2013, Irit Meir, Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, volume 3 (overall work in English), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 561. From the entry contrived
- They not only forswore dopping themselves, but also contrived to make the National Party forgo a dop.2004, Patrick Stevens, Politics is the Greatest Game, page 170. From the entry dop
- Borderlessness is a contrived crisis since, for regeneration to take place requires an orificed, profligate, grotesque body.1999, Carolyn Marvin, David W. Ingle, “Fresh blood, public meat”, in Blood Sacrifice and the Nation: Totem Rituals and the American Flag…. From the entry orificed
- Although this mise en scène may sound like a contrived “Twilight Zone” setup, it provides Mr.1995 June 27, Michiko Kakutani, “Playing Pygmalion to a Hermeneutic Computer”, in New York Times. From the entry mise en scène
Meaning of contrive
- verb To invent by an exercise of ingeniosity; to devise.
- verb To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation.
- verb To project, cast, or set forth, as in a projection of light.
Questions about the past tense of contrive
- What is the past tense of contrive?
- The past tense of contrive is contrived.
- What is the past participle of contrive?
- The past participle of contrive is contrived.
- Is contrive a regular or irregular verb?
- Contrive is a regular verb: its past tense adds -d.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contrive (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this page: “Past tense of contrive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/contrive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.