devices
4.6
A person's own plans or ways of doing things when alone
- noun
- /dɪˈvaɪsɪz/
:
artimañas
- When the children were left to their own devices, they created an amazing fort out of blankets and pillows.
But anytime we've been left alone to our own devices, we build and fast.
- But anytime we've been left alone to our own devices, we build and fast.
- It's, it's stable if it's left to its own devices.
- Egoism, he says, is boundless, left to its own devices.
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Examples
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Like if just left to my own devices I will sleep great.
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But anytime we've been left alone to our own devices, we build and fast.
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The students were left to their own devices during the project, allowing them to explore their creativity freely.
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She often prefers to be left to her own devices rather than follow others' plans.
Idioms
Alone without help or someone watching, a person must take care of themselves
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word devices comes from an old word devise meaning 'to make a plan', and from a Latin root we still see in divide ('to separate'). So a device once meant a clever 'plan' or way of doing things, which is why 'left to one's own devices' means left to their own plans or ideas.