devise

[ dih-vahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, de·vised, de·vis·ing.

1. to contrive, plan, or elaborate; invent from existing principles or ideas:

   to devise a method.

2. Theater. to develop (a play) collaboratively with the performers:

   Based on the lives of women in engineering, the students devised the play themselves.

3. Law. to assign or transmit (property) by will.
4. Archaic. to imagine; suppose.

verb (used without object)

, de·vised, de·vis·ing.

1. to form a plan; contrive.

noun

1. Law.
   1. the act of disposing of property, especially real property, by will.
   2. a will or clause in a will disposing of property, especially real property.
   3. the property so disposed of.

devise

/ dɪˈvaɪz /

verb

1. to work out, contrive, or plan (something) in one's mind
2. tr law to dispose of (property, esp real property) by will
3. obsolete.
   tr to imagine or guess

noun

1. 1. a disposition of property by will
   2. the property so transmitted Compare bequeath
2. a will or clause in a will disposing of real property Compare bequest

Derived Forms

• deˈviser, noun

Other Words From

• de·vis·er noun
• pre·de·vise verb (used with object) predevised predevising

Word History and Origins

Origin of devise¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; (verb) Middle English devisen “to inspect, design, compose,” from Old French deviser, from unattested Vulgar Latin dēvīsāre, for unattested dīvīsāre, frequentative of Latin dīvidere “to divide” ( divide ); (noun) device

Word History and Origins

Origin of devise¹

C15: from Old French deviser to divide, apportion, intend, from Latin dīvidere to divide

Synonym Study

See prepare.

Example Sentences

Konijnendijk said he devised the benchmark to help set a 'bare minimum' for nature in cities.

From Science Daily

There was no shortage of available data to search for patterns in malformations and symptoms to identify subtypes for which treatment protocols could be devised.

From Science Daily

“Defendants devised a scheme to obtain payments through the use of coercive threats from anyone with any ties to Combs — no matter how remote,” lawyers for the unnamed plaintiff wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

"The power of mathematics is that we can devise models that reproduce experimentally observed data and make concrete predictions about what will happen next," Karamched said.

From Science Daily

Instead, they had devised their own methods, which included standing in the yard behind reversing vehicles.

From BBC

Related Words

• arrange
• come up with
• concoct
• construct
• craft
• create
• design
• discover
• forge
• formulate
• hatch
• invent
• mastermind
• prepare
• work out