improvise
Americanverb (used with object)
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to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation; extemporize.
to improvise an acceptance speech.
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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)
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
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Men carry buckets of water for the communal kitchens and improvised latrines while women stir massive pots over open flames.
From Barron's
She also cooked up the idea to improvise some Elvish, the fictional language of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels.
From Los Angeles Times
“Puppets have an immediacy that also makes them fun to perform with and to improvise with.”
From Los Angeles Times
Then comes the question: improvise, pantry-first, “Chopped” style, or follow a recipe?
From Salon
For a later scene when Man-soo is strolling, businesslike, toward his first attempted murder, Lee improvised a spastic callback to the earlier snake moment.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
