different between contrivance vs contrive

English

Etymology

contrive +? -ance

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?t?a?.v?ns/

Noun

contrivance (plural contrivances)

1. a (mechanical) device to perform a certain task
2. a means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective
   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 266b.

     And along with each of these go their images, not the things themselves, — they too have come about by godlike contrivance.

3. something overly artful or artificial

Synonyms

• contraption

Related terms

• contrive

Translations

Further reading

• contrivance in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• contrivance in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?t?a?v/
• Rhymes: -a?v

Verb

contrive (third-person singular simple present contrives, present participle contriving, simple past and past participle contrived)

1. To invent by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise

   Synonyms: plan, scheme, plot, hatch

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 154

     […] I cannot bear the idea of two young women traveling post by themselves. It is highly improper. You must contrive to send somebody.

2. To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation.
3. To project, cast, or set forth, as in a projection of light.
4. (obsolete, transitive) To spend (time, or a period).

Synonyms

• becast
• cast about

Derived terms

• contrived
• contriver
• contrivance

Translations

Anagrams

• renovict