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Added 8 October 2026

contrive

/kənˈtɹaɪv/ verb

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about contrive at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Make or work out a plan for; devise.
They contrived to murder their boss
Come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort.
excogitate a way to measure the speed of light
Put or send forth.
She threw the flashlight beam into the corner

Origin

From Middle English contreve (“to invent”), from Old French controver (Modern French controuver), from trover (“to find”) (French trouver).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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