Contrive
Contrive verb - To engage in a secret plan to accomplish evil or unlawful ends.
Usage example: the mischievous boys were always contriving and trying to pull the prank that would be the talk of the school
Plan is a synonym for contrive in devise topic. In some cases you can use "Plan" instead a verb "Contrive", when it comes to topics like activity, invent, plot, scheme. popular alternative
Plan
Plan verb - To work out the details of (something) in advance.
Usage example: we planned the school dance down to the smallest detail
Contrive is a synonym for plan in devise topic. You can use "Contrive" instead a verb "Plan", if it concerns topics such as arrange, organize, planned, think out. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
| way | contrive way | plan way |
| assassination | contrive assassination | plan assassination |
Both words in one sentence
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In Alan Moore's Skizz from 2000 AD, the characters contrive a plan to break Skizz (an extra-terrestrial who crash-landed and stranded himself on Earth) out of an RAF airbase in Birmingham, not knowing that he has been taught English by his captors.
Source: You Can Talk?
Cite this Source
Plan and Contrive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrive/plan
Contrive & Plan. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrive/plan>.
Plan or Contrive. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrive/plan.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contrive" and "plan" have occurred on timeline