be contrived

Examples (10)

• The plot of the movie felt so predictable because it was completely contrived.
• His excuse for missing the meeting was so obviously contrived that nobody believed him.
• The happy ending of the book is contrived and doesn't fit the story's dark tone.
• The politician's emotional speech was carefully contrived to win over voters.
• Any solution that ignores the root cause of the problem will be contrived and temporary.
• The supposedly spontaneous photograph of the celebrity was actually contrived for a magazine.
• The entire situation has been contrived by our opponents to make us look bad.
• Critics argued that the play's dialogue was contrived and lacked authenticity.
• The way the main characters kept running into each other was a little too contrived for my liking.
• Her display of surprise was so artificial it was clearly contrived.