Other forms: contrived, contrives, contriving
To contrive is to manage to do something by clever planning. Contrive to meet, contrived an excuse, contrive a solution.
It carries a faint suggestion that the cleverness shows, which is why the adjective contrived means artificial. It often takes to and a verb — contrive to be late. The Old French behind it means to find out.
1verbcontriveTo manage to do something by clever planning.
“Somehow she contrived to get a seat next to the director at dinner.”
contrive is a managing.
Old French controver means to find out or invent, from trover, to find, the modern French trouver.
Old French
controver
Middle English
contreve — to invent
English, today
contrive
Built from
From Middle English contreve (“to invent”), from Old French controver (Modern French controuver), from trover (“to find”) (French trouver).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA