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contrivance

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
con·triv·ance  (kn-trvns)
n.
1.
a. The act of contriving.
b. The state of being contrived.
2. Something contrived, as a mechanical device or a clever plan.

contrivance [kənˈtraɪvəns]
n
1. something contrived, esp an ingenious device; contraption
2. the act or faculty of devising or adapting; inventive skill or ability
3. an artificial rather than natural selection or arrangement of details, parts, etc.
4. an elaborate or deceitful plan or expedient; stratagem
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.contrivancecontrivance - a device or control that is very useful for a particular job
device - an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose; "the device is small enough to wear on your wrist"; "a device intended to conserve water"
gadgetry - appliances collectively; "laborsaving gadgetry"
gimbal - an appliance that allows an object (such as a ship's compass) to remain horizontal even as its support tips
injector - a contrivance for injecting (e.g., water into the boiler of a steam engine or particles into an accelerator etc.)
mod con - modern convenience; the appliances and conveniences characteristic of a modern house
2.contrivance - the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful contrivance of answers to every problem"
invention, excogitation, innovation, conception, design - the creation of something in the mind
3.contrivance - an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track"
scheme, strategy - an elaborate and systematic plan of action
plant - something planted secretly for discovery by another; "the police used a plant to trick the thieves"; "he claimed that the evidence against him was a plant"
pump-and-dump scheme - an illegal scheme for making money by manipulating stock prices; the schemer persuades other people to buy the stock and then sells it himself as soon as the price of the stock rises
wangle, wangling - an instance of accomplishing something by scheming or trickery
4.contrivance - an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement of details or parts etc.; "the plot contained too many improbable contrivances to be believable"
organization, arrangement, organisation, system - an organized structure for arranging or classifying; "he changed the arrangement of the topics"; "the facts were familiar but it was in the organization of them that he was original"; "he tried to understand their system of classification"
5.contrivance - any improvised arrangement for temporary use
temporary hookup, patch - a connection intended to be used for a limited time
arrangement - an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging; "a flower arrangement"
6.contrivance - the act of devising something
invention - the act of inventing

contrivance
noun
1. device, machine, equipment, gear, instrument, implement, mechanism, invention, appliance, apparatus, gadget, contraption They wear simple clothes and shun modern contrivances.
2. stratagem, plan, design, measure, scheme, trick, plot, dodge, expedient, ruse, artifice, machination It is nothing more than a contrivance to raise prices.
Translations
contrivance [kənˈtraɪvəns] N (= machine, device) → artilugio m, aparato m; (= invention) → invención f, invento m; (= stratagem) → estratagema f
contrivance [kənˈtraɪvəns] n
(= scheme) → machination f, combinaison f
(= device) → appareil m, dispositif m
(= artificiality) [book, play, plot] → caractère m artificiel
contrivance
n
(= device)Vorrichtung f; (mechanical) → Gerät nt, → Apparat m
(= devising, scheming)Planung f; (= invention)Erfindung f; (= inventiveness)Findigkeit f, → Erfindungsgabe f; a plan of his contrivanceein seinem Kopf entstammender Plan; a device of his contrivanceein von ihm erfundenes Gerät
(= plan, scheme)List f
contrivance [kənˈtraɪvns] n (machine, device) → congegno; (scheme) → espediente m, stratagemma m
contrivance [kənˈtraɪvns] n (machine, device) → congegno; (scheme) → espediente m, stratagemma m


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
It may seem to you rather a blundering contrivance for a clever young man to bury the guineas.
The wife of a whaling captain had provided the chapel with a handsome pair of red worsted man-ropes for this ladder, which, being itself nicely headed, and stained with a mahogany color, the whole contrivance, considering what manner of chapel it was, seemed by no means in bad taste.
Nothing can be more curious than to see the channels and aqueducts that nature has formed in this hard rock, so exact and of such admirable contrivance, that they seem to be the work of men.
 
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