Synonyms

improvise

American

[im-pruh-vahyz] / ˈɪm prəˌvaɪz /

verb (used with object)

improvised, improvising

to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation; extemporize.

to improvise an acceptance speech.
to compose, play, recite, or sing (verse, music, etc.) on the spur of the moment.
to make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available.

We improvised a dinner from yesterday's leftovers.

verb (used without object)

improvised, improvising

to compose, utter, execute, or arrange anything extemporaneously.

When the actor forgot his lines he had to improvise.

improvise British

/ ˈɪmprəˌvaɪz /

verb

to perform or make quickly from materials and sources available, without previous planning
to perform (a poem, play, piece of music, etc), composing as one goes along

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

improviser noun
improvisor noun

Etymology

Origin of improvise

First recorded in 1820–30; from French improviser, or its source, Italian improvisare (later improvvisare ), verbal derivative of improviso “improvised,” from Latin imprōvīsus, equivalent to im- “un-” + prōvīsus, past participle of prōvidēre “to see beforehand, prepare, provide for (a future circumstance)”; im- ², proviso

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023