contrive
verb /kənˈtraɪv/
/kənˈtraɪv/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they contrive | /kənˈtraɪv/ /kənˈtraɪv/ |
| he / she / it contrives | /kənˈtraɪvz/ /kənˈtraɪvz/ |
| past simple contrived | /kənˈtraɪvd/ /kənˈtraɪvd/ |
| past participle contrived | /kənˈtraɪvd/ /kənˈtraɪvd/ |
| -ing form contriving | /kənˈtraɪvɪŋ/ /kənˈtraɪvɪŋ/ |
- contrive to do something to manage to do something despite difficulties
- She contrived to spend a couple of hours with him every Sunday evening.
- Somehow they contrived to live on her tiny income.
- contrive something to succeed in making something happen despite difficulties
- I decided to contrive a meeting between the two of them.
- contrive something to think of or make something, for example a plan or a machine, in a clever way
- They contrived a plan to defraud the company.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French contreuve-, stressed stem of controver ‘imagine, invent’, from medieval Latin contropare ‘compare’.