IMPROVISE Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

improvise

verb

ˈim-prə-ˌvīz

Definition of improvise

as in to devise

to perform, make, or do without preparation since the award was a complete surprise, I improvised an acceptance speech

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of improvise What made jazz so distinct was the freedom embedded into its structure, with musicians improvising, trading solos and bending notes together. — Abraham Swee, USA Today, 29 June 2026 Advertisement For many Venezuelans, the first days of rescue efforts have depended as much on neighbors improvising as on aid arriving from outside. — Philip Wang, Time, 29 June 2026 To stay dry, the two improvised, finding child-size rain coats when the adult ones were sold out at a Target store. — Jason Rantala, CBS News, 28 June 2026 On the red carpet, Minetree teased working with Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan in season two, claiming the pair probably improvised the most together. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for improvise

Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise

Verb

Its specialists work with customers to assess their retirement accounts and devise a diversified portfolio of precious metals that features an asset allocation designed to adhere to their risk tolerance and investment goals.

— Javier Simon, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Marmion and Currie now join every other coed school that has to devise how to share finite facilities.

— Dave Oberhelman, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026

Definition of devise

Verb

In The Beauty, Ryan Murphy and co-creator Matthew Hodgson have concocted a genre-hopping oddity that sounds unlikely to work.

— Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026
Brazil’s team, meanwhile, decamped to Orlando, Florida, where Laitano affixed players with sweat-collection patches and analyzed their fluid and electrolyte loss during workouts to concoct a hydration regimen for each person.

— Nancy Walecki, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026

Definition of concoct

Verb

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
Friends said he was talented and could extemporize about anything.

— Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2023

Definition of extemporize

Browse Nearby Words

improvisations

improvise

improvised

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Improvise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvise. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of improvise

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on improvise

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

implacable

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes