as in to devise
to perform, make, or do without preparation
since the award was a complete surprise, I improvised an acceptance speech
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Recent Examples of improvise
Like the original This Is Spinal Tap, Reiner has said that the sequel would largely be improvised, but with a firm structure in place.
—
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
According to police reports, the attacks included four car bombs, three motorcycle bombs, 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), gunfire, and the discovery of two gas-cylinder bombs planted on public roads.
—Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025
This season really leans into the acting, too, with extended scenes of dialogue that feel raw and improvised and real, culminating in a powerhouse finale that delivers the kind of exhilarating catharsis that The Bear does so well.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 25 June 2025
Despite keeping work on track, improvised fixes often bypass policies and create unintentional risks that could be pathways for threat actors to cause bigger issues, severing business continuity and compromising customer trust.
—Daniel Root, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
According to police reports, the attacks included four car bombs, three motorcycle bombs, 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), gunfire, and the discovery of two gas-cylinder bombs planted on public roads.
—Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025
This season really leans into the acting, too, with extended scenes of dialogue that feel raw and improvised and real, culminating in a powerhouse finale that delivers the kind of exhilarating catharsis that The Bear does so well.
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 25 June 2025
Despite keeping work on track, improvised fixes often bypass policies and create unintentional risks that could be pathways for threat actors to cause bigger issues, severing business continuity and compromising customer trust.
—Daniel Root, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise
Verb
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This ignores a fundamental problem of innovation and inventiveness, which is that many of the innovative geniuses who devised transformative inventions failed to profit financially from their own ingenuity while more aggressive, entrepreneurial bystanders claimed credit and profit.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
10 July 2025
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The breath-freshener smell that Marks had devised was a combination of laurel leaves—peculiar to the modern sensibility, but not off-putting—and musk.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
10 July 2025
Verb
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For its 86th summer season, Del Mar has concocted a schedule filled with food-centric festivities, sips, handicapping and tips, blended in with world-class thoroughbred racing.—
Kelley Carlson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 July 2025
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At the end of the semester, Domokos asked him to concoct a simple algorithm to explore how tetrahedra balance.—
Elise Cutts,
Quanta Magazine,
25 June 2025
Verb
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The future, instead, seems to belong to the teams and coaches who are willing to be a little more flexible and see their role as providing a platform on which their players might extemporize.—
Rory Smith,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2023
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Friends said he was talented and could extemporize about anything.—
Jacques Kelly,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Improvise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvise. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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