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 night, the host improvises his way through more than three hours of unedited tribal council drama.
—
David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
The pair largely improvised their scenes together, including one where Johannes walks through a stage show he’s planned for Charli.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
Sharon Udoh Udoh composes, writes and improvises hymns.
—Ruby Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
The defense said officers improvise all the time.
—Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for improvise
David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
The pair largely improvised their scenes together, including one where Johannes walks through a stage show he’s planned for Charli.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
Sharon Udoh Udoh composes, writes and improvises hymns.
—Ruby Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
The defense said officers improvise all the time.
—Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise
Verb
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New uses are continually being devised.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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With no worthy opponents left, Baki and the underground fighters grow restless — until a plan is devised to resurrect Miyamoto Musashi, Japan’s greatest swordsman.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Before Bridgegate, there was Tollgate in 2011, when Baroni went behind the back of the executive director to conspire with Christie to concoct a phony and fantastically too high 50% toll hike plan, that Christie could knock back and be the hero.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
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Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield concocted an elaborate scheme to kill his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan, in their family home in February 2023.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
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 2 Feb. 2026.
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