devised

USAGE SUMMARY

The word 'devised' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to indicate when someone has created or thought of something, usually a plan or system. Example sentence: She devised a strategy to help her work more efficiently.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Arts

Business

Tech

Travel

Sport

Opinion

Lifestyle

Film

Books

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

In response to a questionnaire devised by the Guardian and five leading European newspapers, the vast majority of almost 100 European doctors and psychiatrists who replied said there was a "prescribing culture" in their country because other help for people with depression was inadequate.

The Guardian

Devlet Bahceli, leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement party (MHP), said the controversy was a political manoeuvre devised by Erdogan to "cover up his faults", including corruption claims targeting his inner circle.

The Guardian

This was a time of great papal wealth and, in Wycliffe's view, corruption – he devised a doctrine which declared that the only source of God's authority was the Bible, not the papacy, and argued for the vast power held by the church to be secularised.

The Guardian

Half were offered standard care, the other half received additional "facilitated physical activity intervention" – an exercise coach who devised and monitored a programme for them.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

During the second world war, Duchamp devised a scheme to transport his artistic materials out of Europe.

The Guardian - Arts

"We devised a structure of petals on tall stems, which would travel from all of the participating countries, then be brought into the stadium by children.

The Guardian - Arts

Our current tax and transfer system is devised to improve equality – and it does it very well given the actual small amount the government taxes and spends compared to other nations: The private income of the highest household income quintile is 13 times that of the lowest.

The Guardian - Business

Devised by Bill Cheswick of Lucent Technologies-Bell Labs and Hal Burch of Carnegie Mellon university, it traces the routes that pieces of data take to reach up to 20,000 nodes (computers like web and email servers) connected to the web.

The Guardian - Tech

Staunton drew upon her mother (and the women she'd see "in headscarves standing at bus stops in the dark waiting to go to work") when she devised, with director Mike Leigh, her 2004 film breakthrough role as Vera Drake, a downtrodden cleaning lady who performs illegal abortions in 1950s London.

The Guardian

The Hidden City project, a free app, takes you on unusual sightseeing tours devised by locals including a student, an immigrant and a second world war veteran.

The Guardian - Travel

None of the four questions, or the opening or closing statements, will proceed in the same order twice, according to a grid devised by the production team at ITV Studios to be as fair as possible to each leader.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Consider stronger verbs like 'engineered' or 'formulated' if you want to emphasize the complexity or precision of the creation process.

Common error

Avoid using "devised" when a simpler word like 'created' or 'made' would suffice. Overusing "devised" can make your writing sound unnecessarily formal or pretentious.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "devised" is that of a past tense verb, indicating the act of creating or planning something in the past. As shown by Ludwig, it often appears in sentences describing strategies, plans, or systems that someone has intellectually created.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

58%

Formal & Business

15%

Science

12%

Less common in

Arts

5%

Opinion

3%

Lifestyle

3%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "devised" is a past tense verb used to describe the act of creating or inventing something, especially a plan or system. According to Ludwig AI, the word is grammatically correct and widely used in written English. As seen from the Ludwig examples, it is most common in news and media, formal business and science contexts, indicating a neutral to formal register. When writing, it's important to ensure the subject can perform intellectual creation and that you avoid overusing the term in simple contexts. For alternatives, consider "formulated", "created" or "invented" depending on the nuance you want to convey.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

formulated

Focuses on creating a systematic plan or statement.

invented

Implies originality and the creation of something entirely new.

developed

Focuses on gradual growth and refinement of an idea or product.

created

A more general term for bringing something into existence.

engineered

Suggests a careful and systematic approach to design and construction.

concocted

Suggests a clever or elaborate plan, sometimes with a hint of deception.

originated

Highlights the beginning or source of an idea or plan.

contrived

Implies artificiality or a forced quality in the creation.

fashioned

Implies shaping or molding something into a particular form.

planned

A straightforward term for creating a detailed proposal.

FAQs

How to use "devised" in a sentence?

You can use "devised" to indicate that someone has created a plan, system, or invention. For example, "The team devised a new strategy for marketing the product."

What can I say instead of "devised"?

You can use alternatives like "formulated", "created", or "invented" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "devised by" or "devised from"?

"Devised by" is used to indicate who created something, while "devised from" suggests the source or basis from which something was created. For example, "The plan was devised by the committee" versus "The plan was devised from existing data."

What's the difference between "devised" and "designed"?

"Devised" often implies a more intellectual or strategic creation, while "designed" suggests a more practical or aesthetic creation. Both are similar but convey slightly different nuances.