contrive

When a lady’s maid and a houseguest’s valet fall in love, they contrive to unite their incompatible employers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Of course, if the show becomes a fantabulous success, the Netflix engineers may contrive a way to make it live again; it’s happened before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2025

One of the first things McCartney did when he took over the Buffs in 1982 was contrive a rivalry with Nebraska and ban red in the football building.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023

"From that day on he would contrive situations to get me alone," he said.

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2023

“I wish we could contrive it,” said she; “but I cannot think of any tolerable pretence for going in;—no servant that I want to inquire about of his housekeeper—no message from my father.”

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

So even if the U.S. somehow contrives to lose to Paraguay, draw with Australia, and lose to Turkey, for example, it’s highly likely they’ll get into the Round of 16.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

With the younger son taking over as jailer, this goes on for a century, until Dream contrives to escape.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2022

And while the Survivor season contrives to have its David come out ahead, White’s fictionalized version offers no such assurances about the triumph of the underdog.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2021

He contrives to rescue her and the others and bundle the whole lot of them off to sea, where the ballet ends somewhat as it began, give or take a few adventures.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 18, 2019

Technical proofs are the arguments that the orator contrives.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Without being stagey or contrived, Mr. Mungiu explores a conflict with implications far beyond the courtroom showdown in his climax.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

In a film full of contrived indignities, this is the most maddening, suggesting that anyone watching the film is no more clever than the “Fossil Fools” audience members.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

The 33-year-old apologised in June after an EFL independent disciplinary commission found he had orchestrated a "contrived and determined plan" to spy on Oxford United, Ipswich Town, then Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Scenes designed to advance the plot feel more contrived than ones in which characters just share thoughts and feelings, but there are plenty of those.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

And she took their ragged clothes and with thread she herself spun on a bamboo spindle from a wad of cotton she mended and contrived to cover the rents in their winter clothes.

From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck

The FDA implicitly concedes that the RP1 results are impressive by contriving ridiculous reasons to argue they could be exaggerated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

Redondo hit the post twice in a matter of seconds - first seeing her header brilliantly tipped on to the woodwork by Daphne van Domselaar, before contriving to turn the rebound off the same upright.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2023

Perhaps his primary knack was for contriving a tension between immaculate optics and human entropy.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2023

In time I hope to find some means of overpowering the pilot and contriving my escape.

From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2020

I counted to one hundred as I rocked, contriving the patience to get one down in order to take up another.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver