In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
artificial, contrived, hokey, stilted
(adjective) artificially formal; “that artificial humility that her husband hated”; “contrived coyness”; “a stilted letter of acknowledgment”; “when people try to correct their speech they develop a stilted pronunciation”
contrived
(adjective) showing effects of planning or manipulation; “a novel with a contrived ending”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
contrived
simple past tense and past participle of contrive
contrived (comparative more contrived, superlative most contrived)
Created in a deliberate, rather than natural or spontaneous, way.
Unnatural, forced; artificial, or unrealistic.
• staged
• spontaneous
Source: Wiktionary
Con*trive", v. t. [imp. & p.p. Contrived; p.pr. & vb.n. Contriving.] Etym: [OE. contriven, contreven, controven, to invent, OF. controver, contruver; con- + trouver to find. See Troubadour, trover.]
Definition: To form by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise; to invent; to design; to plan. What more likely to contrive this admirable frame of the universe than infinite wisdom. Tillotson. neither do thou imagine that I shall contrive aught against his life. Hawthorne.
Syn.
– To invent; discover; plan; design; project; plot; concert; hatch.
Con*trive", v. i.
Definition: To make devices; to form designs; to plan; to scheme; to plot. The Fates with traitors do contrive. Shak. Thou hast contrived against th very life Of the defendant. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 April 2025
(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”
In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.