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contrivance

[kuhn-trahy-vuhns] / kənˈtraɪ vəns /




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Someone makes a jokey reference to the cartoon contrivance of “Scooby-Doo,” and the comparison is brutally apt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

"The whole thing hangs on contrivance and familiarity, not characters, so the fights don’t seem to matter much."

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2024

The moment when Alcala nearly attacks Sheryl at her car, only to be saved by a last-second stage door opening is also likely a narrative contrivance.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2024

As the prosecution described it, the case that faces a man who made his Hollywood name with the artificial drama of “The Apprentice” needs no contrivance.

From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2024

He is average-sized and prematurely gray, but by some contrivance of carriage and posture, he makes the men who stand before him feel smaller.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr




Vocabulary lists containing contrivance


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