What does "contrivance" mean?
A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task.
Contrivance
/kənˈtɹaɪ.vəns/ noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task.
- Grammar: contrivance is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: gadget, action, ad hoc measure, agent.
- Useful contrasts: accident, candor, honesty.
- Usage evidence: Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom.
How to use "contrivance"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "contrivance" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "contrivance" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "contrivance" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "contrivance" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "contrivance" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "gadget" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "contrivance", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task.
- 2 the act of devising something wordnet
- 3 A means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective.
"I mean to give something as slight and inexpensive as possible; but I have been so long out of the way of these things, that I am really quite at a loss, and must throw myself on your kindness, as I hope you will be with me, and also Mr. and Mrs. Gooch. You must arrange in such a manner as not to blush for your own contrivances."
- 4 a device or control that is very useful for a particular job wordnet
- 5 Something overly artful or artificial.
"When the stamens of a flower suddenly spring towards the pistil, or slowly move one after the other towards it, the contrivance seems adapted solely to ensure self-fertilisation; and no doubt it is useful for this end: but, the agency of insects is often required to cause the stamens to spring forward, as Kölreuter has shown to be the case with the barberry; and curiously in this very genus, which seems to have a special contrivance for self-fertilisation, it is well known that if very closely-allied forms or varieties are planted near each other, it is hardly possible to raise pure seedlings, so largely do they naturally cross."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 any improvised arrangement for temporary use wordnet
- 7 the faculty of contriving; inventive skill wordnet
- 8 an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement of details or parts etc. wordnet
- 9 an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "contrivance"?
Common synonyms include: gadget, action, ad hoc measure, agent, anagnorisis, ancilla.
How do you use "contrivance" in a sentence?
Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom.
How do you pronounce "contrivance"?
Pronounced /kənˈtɹaɪ.vəns/.
Etymology
From contrive + -ance.