contrived

2 definitions found

contrived - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Contrive \Con*trive"\ (k[o^]n*tr[imac]v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
     Contrived; p. pr. & vb. n. Contriving.] [OE. contriven,
     contreven, controven, to invent, OF. controver, contruver;
     con- + trouver to find. See Troubadour, trover.]
     To form by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise; to invent; to
     design; to plan.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           What more likely to contrive this admirable frame of
           the universe than infinite wisdom.       --Tillotson.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           neither do thou imagine that I shall contrive aught
           against his life.                        --Hawthorne.
  
     Syn: To invent; discover; plan; design; project; plot;
          concert; hatch.
          [1913 Webster]

contrived - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  contrived
      adj 1: showing effects of planning or manipulation; "a novel
             with a contrived ending"
      2: artificially formal; "that artificial humility that her
         husband hated"; "contrived coyness"; "a stilted letter of
         acknowledgment"; "when people try to correct their speech
         they develop a stilted pronunciation" [syn: artificial,
         contrived, hokey, stilted]