The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Contrivance \Con*triv"ance\, n.
   1. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or
      planning.
      [1913 Webster]

            The machine which we are inspecting demonstrates, by
            its construction, contrivance and design.
            Contrivance must have had a contriver. --Paley.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of
      parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; artifice;
      arrangement.
      [1913 Webster]

            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.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

contrivance
    n 1: a device or control that is very useful for a particular
         job [syn: appliance, contraption, contrivance,
         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: contrivance, 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,
       contrivance]
    6: the act of devising something [syn: devisal, contrivance]