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contrivance

noun
/kənˈtɹaɪ.vəns/

Etymology

From contrive + -ance.

  1. derived from controver
  2. inherited from contreve
  3. suffixed as contrivance — “contrive + ance”

Definitions

  1. A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task.

  2. A means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective.

    • And along with each of these go their images, not the things themselves, — they too have come about by godlike contrivance.

  3. Something overly artful or artificial.

    • The Harry Hamlin character is a bit of a hypochondriac, a contrivance that exists for the sole purpose of bringing him into contact with the confused young doctor at the clinic.
    • The retrospective emphasis on these two specific stories—even their mention here, in the previous paragraph—has become a contrivance.

The neighborhood

Derived

noncontrivance

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at contrivance. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01contrivance02overly03superficially04superficial05closely06privately07private08confidential09secret10knack

A definitional loop anchored at contrivance. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at contrivance

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA