1
as in devises
to create or think of by clever use of the imagination
contrived abstract metal sculptures using old household utensils
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in plots
to engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends
the mischievous boys were always contriving and trying to pull the prank that would be the talk of the school
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in negotiates
to plan out usually with subtle skill or care
contrived a way of planning the surprise party without their catching on to it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of contrives
Her early death, after an illness that the father initially contrives to ignore then notices just in time to capture her desperation in a fine sketch, leaves Mimí utterly disoriented, yearning only to achieve a level of self-control and detachment that will spare him their tumultuous struggle.
—
Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
The team of graphic designers behind Meow Wolf even contrives mini comics based on these realms so readers can get a pulse of how alive these worlds are.
—Malik Peay, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
The team of graphic designers behind Meow Wolf even contrives mini comics based on these realms so readers can get a pulse of how alive these worlds are.
—Malik Peay, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contrives
Verb
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Bright leads the cast of Off Campus as Hannah, a music student who devises a fake dating scheme with hockey star Garrett in order to catch the attention of her crush, Justin.—
Katie Mannion,
PEOPLE,
13 May 2026
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In her work, Mackintosh devises scenarios that are bold and almost aggressively simplified.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Goldman here plots the earnings-revisions trend for 2027 among AI-infrastructure plays, energy companies, the overall S & P 500 and the rest of the S & P outside of AI and energy.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
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While the story is fundamentally the same as the original production — man discovers wife is having an affair, man then plots for his wife’s murder, man then must evade the cops — Hatcher brings the story to the 21st century in many ways.—
Amy Reyes
May 14,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
Verb
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That unit includes the pharmacy benefits manager Caremark, which negotiates drug discounts with manufacturers on behalf of insurance plans, creates lists of medications, or formularies, that are covered by insurance, and reimburses pharmacies for prescriptions.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
6 May 2026
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The actors union’s new agreement with the trade group that negotiates with Hollywood unions on behalf of the major studios will reportedly improve AI protections and boost the guild’s pension fund.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
Verb
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Driver’s character concocts a way for the duo to start an environmental business together as Russians, largely the mafia, are involved in recalibrating a canal in New York City.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
17 May 2026
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The bleak tortures Ohm concocts for his characters are as vile as the Bilberry’s fetid jacuzzi.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Marty, who was loosely based on real-life ping-pong legend Marty Reisman, schemes his way to competitions across the globe and hustles for pocket cash.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Mar. 2026
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Joy Randolph, follows a desperate gallery owner (Portman) who schemes to sell a dead man as art at Art Basel in Miami.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In Bilt’s model, Kerr said, a member books through Resy or OpenTable, the system automatically arranges a Lyft to the restaurant, payment processes through Toast at the table, and the loyalty points post — without anyone coordinating the chain.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
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Next, Butac arranges a bunch of the beans on two trays and roasts them for a specific amount of time before separating the shells from the beans and then running the bean fragments, also known as nibs, through a mill.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
10 May 2026
Verb
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That kind of popularity and radiant goodness produces a lineage of artists but doesn’t have the crowd appeal of a lone genius who invents a flying machine or pulls a seventeen-foot sculpture out of a block of marble.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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Rather than reproducing Monroe’s public mythology, Oates invents a fictional interior life for Norma Jeane Baker, exploring the psychological cost of becoming a cultural icon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Researchers from Doshisha University in Japan have found that the bat does not merely survive this sensory overload, but also actively manipulates its environment to overcome the clutter and locate its prey.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
19 May 2026
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Flashbacks are deployed as more than mere framing devices, since the past plays an active, exciting role in the town’s present, and there’s an extended drug trip that skillfully manipulates lapsed time through recurring blackouts to keep you on the edge of your seat.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Contrives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contrives. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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