improvise

verb

im·pro·vise ˈim-prə-ˌvīz

also ˌim-prə-ˈvīz

improvised; improvising

Synonyms of improvise next

transitive verb

: to compose, recite, play, or sing extemporaneously

: to make, invent, or arrange offhand

the quarterback improvised a play

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

improvise a meal

intransitive verb

: to improvise something

improviser noun

or improvisor

ˈim-prə-ˌvī-zər

ˌim-prə-ˈvī-

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 on the Web Méndez’s Padre Monroe strolls down a theater aisle as though in procession at Mass, making eye contact, improvising jokes with congregants (theatergoers) and exuding joyous faith. —

Celia Wren, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023 A lot of the lines that Zach Woods improvised, the murder victim, that made it into the show, are some of the funniest lines of the whole season. —

Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2023 That included Moab Music Festival’s own Robert Black, a bassist who died this year, who would improvise and record in the great outdoors. —

Sarah Matusek, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Sep. 2023 Martinet started talking, improvising in what would become Mario’s trademark falsetto. —

Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Aug. 2023 That ability to improvise and make plays with his legs first gained an audience at Arkansas last fall when Young’s first-half injury forced the speedy Milroe into action. —

Michael Casagrande | McAsagrande@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2023 Writer, director, and executive producer Michael Patrick King says the moment was improvised by Cattrall. —

Lisa Respers France, CNN, 25 Aug. 2023 Her trumpet lines — both written and improvised — had an irresistible terseness, with the direct power of mariachi trumpeting infused into ideas taken from Midwestern free-jazz players like Baikida Carroll and Lester Bowie, and from electric-era Miles Davis. —

Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2023 But besides making hay out of incompetence, the Mischief team also seems to have put this show together as a testament to how actors can improvise on the fly, under extreme duress, as many of the characters do here. —

Chris Willman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'improvise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of improvise was in 1788

See more words from the same year