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3 definitions found

From: DICT.TW English-Chinese Dictionary 英漢字典

 con·triv·ance /kənˈtraɪvən(t)s/
 發明,發明的才能,想出的辦法,發明物

From: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

 Con·triv·ance n.
 1. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or planning.
    The machine which we are inspecting demonstrates, by its construction, contrivance and design. Contrivance must have had a contriver.   --Paley.
 2. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; artifice; arrangement.
    Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants.   --Burke.
 Syn: -- Device; plan; scheme; invention; machine; project; design; artifice; shift. See Device.
 

From: WordNet (r) 2.0

 contrivance
      n 1: a device that is very useful for a particular job [syn: appliance,
            contraption, convenience, gadget, gizmo, gismo,
            widget]
      2: the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful
         contrivance of answers to every problem"
      3: an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or
         evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us
         off the track" [syn: stratagem, dodge]
      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: any improvised arrangement for temporary use [syn: lash-up]
      6: the act of devising something [syn: devisal]