Contrived — A Vocabulary Story
The Tornado in Saeed's Room
Saeed's bedroom looked like a jumble sale that had been hit by a runaway trolley. His mum stood in the doorway with her arms folded.
"Tidy up, please," she said.
"I can't," said Saeed. "A tiny tornado came through the window last night. It only visits messy children's rooms. It's very unfair."
His mum raised one eyebrow. "That is the most contrived excuse I've heard since your dad blamed the cat for eating his broccoli."
Contrived means deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously; artificial or forced.
Saeed tried again. "Actually, it was aliens. They were searching for my maths homework. Aliens love long division."
"Even more contrived," said his mum. "Aliens who fly across the galaxy for homework? Try once more."
Saeed thought hard. He needed something believable. "Fine. A squirrel got in, panicked, and knocked everything over while looking for its acorn."
His mum tapped her chin. "Better. Still contrived, though. Squirrels are far too organised for this level of chaos."
Saeed looked around at the sea of comics, tangled pyjamas and one mysterious banana skin. He let out a long, defeated sigh. "It was me. I did the mess. I am the tornado."
"Finally," said his mum, smiling, "a story that isn't completely contrived."
So Saeed tidied. And halfway under his bed, he found his long-lost shiny football sticker, the one he'd searched for all summer.
"Mum!" he shouted. "The squirrel must have hidden it here!"
From downstairs came her voice: "Saeed!"
"Sorry!" he called back, grinning. "Old habits!"
Word Definition
contrived
meaning
deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously; artificial or forced
synonyms
strained · forced · false · devised · plotted
antonyms
genuine · natural · spontaneous
example sentence
The ending of the movie felt contrived and unrealistic.