Link Centre Dictionary

contrive

cont·rive

UK/kənˈtɹaɪv/ US/kʌˈntraɪv/ uncommon obsolete

verb

1.

make or work out a plan for; devise

  • “They contrived to murder their boss”
  • “design a new sales strategy”
  • “plan an attack”
2.

come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort

  • “excogitate a way to measure the speed of light”
3.

put or send forth

  • “She threw the flashlight beam into the corner”
  • “The setting sun threw long shadows”
  • “cast a spell”
  • “cast a warm light”

Origin

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

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.