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Noun: contrivance  kun'trI-vun(t)s
  1. The act of devising something
    "The contrivance of a new marketing strategy took several brainstorming sessions";
    - devisal
     
  2. The faculty of contriving; inventive skill
    "his skilful contrivance of answers to every problem"
     
  3. Any improvised arrangement for temporary use
    "They created a contrivance to fix the broken pipe until a plumber could arrive";
    - lash-up [informal]
     
  4. An artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived arrangement of details or parts etc.
    "the plot contained too many improbable contrivances to be believable"
     
  5. An elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade
    "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track";
    - stratagem, dodge [informal]

Derived forms: contrivances

Type of: arrangement, conception, design, excogitation, fiction, innovation, invention, organisation [Brit], organization, scheme, strategy, system