Meaning

4 senses

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

    ersinnen

    замышлятьzamyšljatʹ

  2. To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation.

    entwerfen

    изобрета́тьizobretátʹ

  3. To project, cast, or set forth, as in a projection of light.

    bewerkstelligen

  4. (obsolete, transitive)To spend (time, or a period).

More definitions
  • come up with (an idea, plan, explanation, theory, or principle) after a mental effort
  • put or send forth
  • make or work out a plan for; devise

Examples

13 sentences

  1. I contrived to leave my wallet behind.

    Я спромігся забути мій гаманець.

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  2. He contrived to cheat in the examination.

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  3. This is a chaotic and contrived attempt.

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  4. They contrived to arrive in time after all.

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  5. He contrived a new engine that does not use gas.

    deEr hat einen neuen Motor erfunden, der kein Benzin braucht.

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Translations

6 languages
Русский
By meaning 2
To form by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise; to plan; to scheme; to plot:
To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
To form by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise; to plan; to scheme; to plot:
To invent, to make devices; to form designs especially by improvisation:
To project, cast, or set forth, as in a projection of light:

Origin

From Middle English contreve (“to invent”), from Old French controver (Modern French contr

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

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

contrives, contriving, contrived, contrived
Base formcontrive · to contrive
3rd person singularcontrives
Present participlecontriving
Past simplecontrived
Past participlecontrived

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theycontrive
he, she, itcontrives

Past simpleLesson

all personscontrived

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave contrived
he, she, ithas contrived

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill contrive

Synonyms

16 synonyms
planB1schemeB2plotB2hatchB1getA1becastcast about
Close in meaning

Word family

8 related words
Relatedcontrivercontrivance
Derivedcontrivablecontrivedcontrivementprecontriverecontriveuncontriving

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
contributionB1contributorcontritecontrolB1controllercontroversialB1
contrive — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto