contrived
adj.unnatural or forced. You use this to describe a story, situation, or behavior that feels fake because it was planned too carefully.
adj.deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously. Often describes literary plots or social behaviors that appear artificial, strained, or lacking in authenticity.
“The movie's happy ending felt very contrived.”
“The dialogue in the play sounded contrived, as if the characters were reading from a textbook rather than speaking naturally.”
“Critics dismissed the novel's resolution as a contrived sequence of coincidences that served the author's thematic goals at the expense of narrative credibility.”
Typically follows a linking verb like 'feel', 'seem', or 'sound'; can also be used attributively before a noun.
“Somehow he contrived to lift the ball over the empty goal.”
“Soon, whichever AI monkey is in charge of storyboarding has contrived to bring Andi and Allison together to investigate what they believe to be murder.”