Contrivance
Contrivance noun - Something (as a device) created for the first time through the use of the imagination.
Usage example: despite the many modern contrivances for saving time and labor, we seem to have less leisure and energy than ever before
Device is a synonym for contrivance in machine topic. In some cases you can use "Device" instead a noun "Contrivance", when it comes to topics like gadget, apparatus, means, object. popular alternative
Device
Device noun - An article intended for use in work.
Usage example: the salesclerk tried to sell me a new device for grooming cats
Contrivance is a synonym for device in machine topic. You can use "Contrivance" instead a noun "Device", if it concerns topics such as gadget, apparatus, means, instrument. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
- This trope is hence about video games in which the strict linearity of the storyline and the lack of agency afforded to the player is not employed solely as a gameplay contrivance but also as a storytelling device or thematic element.
Source: Video Games and Fate
Cite this Source
Device and Contrivance. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrivance/device
Contrivance & Device. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrivance/device>.
Device or Contrivance. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrivance/device.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contrivance" and "device" have occurred on timeline