contrivance
noun
Simple meaning
A device to perform a certain task.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhntryvuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kəntˈɹaɪvəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task.
A means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective.
Something overly artful or artificial.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task.
Used this way, contrivance is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is an engineering use: it is a working term used for accuracy on the job.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use contrivance
- “His skillful contrivance of answers to every problem.”noun
- “His testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track.”noun
- “The plot contained too many improbable contrivances to be believable.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Mechanical
Artificial
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: (mechanical) device to perform a certain task
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.