- 1contrive to do something to manage to do something despite difficulties She contrived to spend a few hours with him every Sunday evening. Somehow they contrived to live on her tiny income.
- 2contrive something to succeed in making something happen despite difficulties I decided to contrive a meeting between the two of them.
- 3contrive something to think of or make something, for example a plan or a machine, in a skillful way They contrived a plan to defraud the company.
contrive
verbNAmE//kənˈtraɪv//
(formal)Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they contrive he / she / it contrives
past simple contrived
-ing form contriving
Check pronunciation: contrive