Definition of contrivance
noun
1 [mass noun] the use of skill to create or bring about something, especially with a consequent effect of artificiality:the requirements of the system, by happy chance and some contrivance, can be summed up in an acronym
2 [count noun] a device, especially in literary or artistic composition, which gives a sense of artificiality: the often tiresome contrivances of historical fiction a thing which is created skilfully and inventively to serve a particular purpose:an assortment of electronic equipment and mechanical contrivances
