1. devices or machines, especially ones that are cleverly designed or improvised
2. clever schemes or plans, often involving deception

Examples

• The inventor’s workshop was filled with strange mechanical contrivances.
• She used various contrivances to keep the broken door closed.
• His elaborate contrivances to avoid work were more effort than the job itself.
• The spy relied on clever contrivances to gather information undetected.
• These simple contrivances made daily tasks much easier for the elderly residents.
• The plot was full of unlikely contrivances that made the story hard to believe.