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
No two film or TV shoots are alike, as each director and team of department heads have to find their own unique rhythm that falls somewhere on a spectrum between meticulous storyboarding and completely improvising on set.
—
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 6 June 2026
Nasa then decided to improvise and led the entire orchestra through the piece, leading to the audience giving him a standing ovation.
—Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
Four years later, the same governments improvised the same shortfalls under the conditions of national emergency.
—Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
In a command center down on Earth, rows of engineers scramble to improvise a solution.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 6 June 2026
Nasa then decided to improvise and led the entire orchestra through the piece, leading to the audience giving him a standing ovation.
—Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
Four years later, the same governments improvised the same shortfalls under the conditions of national emergency.
—Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
In a command center down on Earth, rows of engineers scramble to improvise a solution.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise
Verb
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The team’s Mediterranean Programme was devised in response to the exponential risk of extinction to the sea’s nearly 80 species of shark and ray.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
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Now saddled with the moral dilemma of keeping the money or turning it in, the trio devises a simple plan.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
Verb
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Lukehart dumped Gabrielle's body in a local pond and concocted a story to trick police, court records show.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
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With the trend away from toxic chemical control of plant pests and diseases, treatment formulas concocted from benign household products are on the rise.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
28 May 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 15 Jun. 2026.
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