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
That’s when the quarterback improvised.
—
Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
In the Adams formulation, the true history was about chance, contingency, and unintended consequences, about political leaders who were all improvising on the edge of catastrophe.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Then the lights go out, and the family has to improvise.
—Sari Hitchins, Parents, 24 Oct. 2025
Writer and director Lloyd optioned the book and shot it with an ensemble of actors who got detailed backstories for their characters and core narrative beats, along with the freedom to improvise dialogue.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
In the Adams formulation, the true history was about chance, contingency, and unintended consequences, about political leaders who were all improvising on the edge of catastrophe.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
Then the lights go out, and the family has to improvise.
—Sari Hitchins, Parents, 24 Oct. 2025
Writer and director Lloyd optioned the book and shot it with an ensemble of actors who got detailed backstories for their characters and core narrative beats, along with the freedom to improvise dialogue.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise
Verb
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No matter when or how many times the Eagles run the tush push at Lambeau Field, the Packers must devise a way to do what at times seems impossible because of one, how good the Eagles are at it, and two, how the play is officiated.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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The project is part of NASA’s SIMPLEx, or Small, Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration, program, which aims to spur researchers and companies to devise ways to use small spacecraft to carry out science investigations for pennies on the dollar.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Bedecking the old fish-out-of-water story formula in holiday garb and tinseling it with some apt moral messages for this dysfunctional age, screenwriters Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick have concocted a satisfyingly new-fangled Christmas yarn.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
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The menu at Otaleg is constantly evolving, as Radicioni experiments with new combinations in his gelato laboratory, often concocting head-turning flavors based on his favorite savory dishes.—
Nina Ruggiero,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Nov. 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 21 Nov. 2025.
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