contrivance

Etymology

contrive + -ance

noun

  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. 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 266b
  3. Something overly artful or artificial.

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