contrivance
noun
con·triv·ance
kən-ˈtrī-vən(t)s 
1
a
: a thing contrived
especially
: a mechanical device
modern contrivances to cook food faster
b
: an artificial arrangement or development
Mistaken identity is used as a plot contrivance in the story.
2
: the act or faculty of contriving : the state of being contrived
Examples of contrivance in a Sentence
The story is filled with plot contrivances that do not fit the ending.
He told the story honestly and without contrivance.
a contrivance to get out of doing the work
He convinced her to go without using contrivance.
Recent Examples on the Web
The reader wonders if their mutual faith in hideous cars driven by strangers isn’t a contrivance at all, but a familial trait.
Of the siblings’ many mishaps, the most poetic occurs when they’re forced to swap rental cars after an accident.
—
Bobby Finger, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Measuring a president at 100 days is something of a contrivance that is based on a marker set during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term back in the 1930s.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2025
But much of the show’s appeal can be tracked back to a single performer: At the center of all the flattening contrivance, David Hyde Pierce is shuffling about with his mildly hapless, lovable deadpan, giving the production’s only understated performance.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
To add to the list of coincidences and contrivances, Danny’s sister Harper (Jessy Yates), is also an emergency medicine resident working through the storm.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contrivance
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Bobby Finger, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Measuring a president at 100 days is something of a contrivance that is based on a marker set during Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first term back in the 1930s.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2025
But much of the show’s appeal can be tracked back to a single performer: At the center of all the flattening contrivance, David Hyde Pierce is shuffling about with his mildly hapless, lovable deadpan, giving the production’s only understated performance.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
To add to the list of coincidences and contrivances, Danny’s sister Harper (Jessy Yates), is also an emergency medicine resident working through the storm.
—Judy Berman, Time, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for contrivance
Cite this Entry
“Contrivance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrivance. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
contrivance
noun
con·triv·ance
kən-ˈtrī-vən(t)s
: something (as a scheme or mechanical device) produced with skill and cleverness
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