Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Contrivance \Con*triv"ance\, n.
   1. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or
      planning.

            The machine which we are inspecting demonstrates, by
            its construction, contrivance and design.
            Contrivance must have had a contriver. --Paley.

   2. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of
      parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; atrifice;
      arrangement.

            Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to
            provide for human wants.              --Burke.

   Syn: Device; plan; scheme; invention; machine; project;
        design; artifice; shift. See {Device}.

Source : WordNet®

contrivance
     n 1: a device that is very useful for a particular job [syn: {appliance},
           {contraption}, {convenience}, {gadget}, {gizmo}, {gismo},
           {widget}]
     2: the faculty of contriving; inventive skill; "his skillful
        contrivance of answers to every problem"
     3: an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or
        evade; "his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us
        off the track" [syn: {stratagem}, {dodge}]
     4: an artificial or unnatural or obviously contrived
        arrangement of details or parts etc.; "the plot contained
        too many improbable contrivances to be believable"
     5: any improvised arrangement for temporary use [syn: {lash-up}]
     6: the act of devising something [syn: {devisal}]