contrivances
Ingenious mechanical gadgets
Contrivances are devices or schemes, usually with a connotation of cleverness or artificiality.
A mechanical contrivance is an ingenious gadget: The kitchen was full of labor-saving contrivances.
In storytelling, a contrivance is an implausible plot device that feels forced: The happy ending depended on ridiculous contrivances.
The word often carries skepticism about whether the cleverness is genuine or merely elaborate.
Small mechanical contrivances
- apparatusEquipment for a task
- mechanismsMeans by which things function
- inventionsOriginal creations or devices
- instrumentsTools for precise tasks
appliances · machinery · equipment · implements · tools · widgets · gizmos · contraptions
Secret plans or storylines
- machinationsCrafty scheming toward goals
- stratagemsCrafty plans for advantage
- maneuversPlanned strategic movements
- intriguesPlots or fascinates
conspiracies · designs · plans · tactics · gambits · ploys · subterfuges · manipulations
Deliberate deceptions
- tricksDeceptive acts or techniques
- artificesClever tricks or schemes
- shamsFalse fronts, literal or figurative
- pretensesFalse outward appearances
hoaxes · frauds · charades · masquerades · bluffs · feints · dodges · chicanery
Original creations or devices
- innovationsNew methods or devices
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
- creativityCapacity for original thought
originality · brilliance · ingeniousness · improvisation · solutions · workarounds · adaptations · makeshift
gadgets
Small mechanical contrivances
- apparatusEquipment for a task
- mechanismsMeans by which things function
- inventionsOriginal creations or devices
instruments · appliances · machinery · equipment · implements · tools · widgets · gizmos · contraptions · doodads
plots
Secret plans or storylines
- machinationsCrafty scheming toward goals
- stratagemsCrafty plans for advantage
- maneuversPlanned strategic movements
intrigues · conspiracies · designs · plans · tactics · gambits · ploys · subterfuges · manipulations · calculations
ruses
Deliberate deceptions
- tricksDeceptive acts or techniques
- artificesClever tricks or schemes
- shamsFalse fronts, literal or figurative
pretenses · hoaxes · frauds · charades · masquerades · bluffs · feints · dodges · chicanery · guile
inventions
Original creations or devices
- innovationsNew methods or devices
- clevernessMental quickness and skill
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
creativity · originality · brilliance · ingeniousness · improvisation · solutions · workarounds · adaptations · makeshift · jury-rigs
gears
Toothed rotating machine parts
- pulleysGrooved wheels for rope
- leversForce-multiplying pivot bars
- pistonsForce-transferring engine cylinders
cogwheels · sprockets · camshafts · crankshafts · flywheels · actuators · linkages · escapements · clutches · transmissions
- workaroundsworkaround, workarounds, fixes, hacks, quick fix
contrivancesnatural phenomena
Occurrences without human cause
nature · natural processes · organic forms · wilderness · raw materials
contrivancesauthenticity
Quality of being genuine
spontaneity · naturalness · genuineness · sincerity · artlessness