improvise

verb im·pro·vise \ ˈim-prə-ˌvīz also ˌim-prə-ˈvīz \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

improvised; improvising

transitive verb

1 : to compose, recite, play, or sing extemporaneously

2 : to make, invent, or arrange offhand

the quarterback improvised a play

3 : to make or fabricate out of what is conveniently on hand

improvise a meal

intransitive verb

: to improvise something

—

improviser

or improvisor play \ˈim-prə-ˌvī-zər, ˌim-prə-ˈvī-\ noun

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Examples of improvise in a Sentence

If you forget any of your lines, try to improvise.
Good jazz musicians know how to improvise.
He had to improvise his opening speech when he forgot his notes.
The trumpet player performed an improvised solo.
I wasn't expecting guests, so I had to improvise a meal with what I had in my refrigerator.

Recent Examples of improvise from the Web

The central part is improvised by the Coltrane Quartet.

— michael hamad, courant.com, "Kronos Quartet To Premiere New Arrangement Of Coltrane's 'Alabama' At Wesleyan," 29 Mar. 2018
That’s when her granddaughter improvised in the hours leading up to her walk down the aisle to bring a part of the life-changing day to her beloved grandmother.

— jason duaine hahn, PEOPLE.com, "WATCH: Bride Pays a Surprise Visit to Her Sick Grandmother Before Walking Down the Aisle," 21 Mar. 2018
Improv Boston offers courses that’ll teach you how to improvise, onstage and off.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Goof off the fun way on National Goof-Off Day," 20 Mar. 2018
For two weeks in a row, President Donald Trump has blindsided his own staff by making major policy announcements out of the blue, leaving it up to the White House to improvise the implementation.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "The Bittersweetness of a Rogue President," 12 Mar. 2018
Our rehearsal room was improvised from a loft which Griffith rented in a decrepit old building on Main Street.

— nancie clare, Los Angeles Magazine, "How the World’s First Movie Stars Made Sure Beverly Hills Didn’t Become Part of L.A.," 20 Feb. 2018
Zima improvised and finished the race but came last among the 35 athletes who completed the race.

— kim tong-hyung, The Christian Science Monitor, "Repair shop plays vital role during Paralympics," 15 Mar. 2018
Zima improvised and finished the race but came last among the 35 athletes who completed the race.

— kim tong-hyung, Fox News, "Repair shop integral part of competition at Paralympics," 15 Mar. 2018
But the ways in which people chose to adopt the wild west slang and improvise with the actors was truly fascinating.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Westworld's SXSW Park Was an Incredible Mindfuck of a Social Experiment," 12 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'improvise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of improvise

French improviser, from Italian improvvisare, from improvviso sudden, from Latin improvisus, literally, unforeseen, from in- + provisus, past participle of providēre to see ahead — more at provide

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1788

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year