Contriving

Contriving is the act of planning, devising, or fabricating something to bring about a desired result. It emphasizes intentional effort and ingenuity, and the term can be neutral or negative depending on context. A person may contrive a solution through careful analysis, or contrive a story through deception. Common usages include contrive a plan, contrive an arrangement, or contrive to do something, often implying persistence or cunning.

Etymology and forms: The verb contrive comes from Middle English contriven, via Old French contriver, from Latin contrivēre, meaning to devise or fashion. The related noun contrivance denotes the thing contrived—a device, scheme, or artful arrangement. A contriver is the person who contrives, and contrived is the adjective describing something that feels artificial or deliberately arranged.

Usage and nuance: The sense of contriving ranges from practical problem solving to moral ambiguity. In legitimate contexts, contriving can describe engineering a workaround or orchestrating logistics. In moral or legal terms, contriving a fraudulent alibi or contriving a plot often signals deception or manipulation and may carry a negative judgment. In literature and film, contrived plots or endings describe artifices that feel forced or overly convenient rather than naturally evolving.