as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
stumbled through an improvised reply to an unexpected question at the press conference
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in concocted
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 improvised
Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Two months later, the group launched more than two dozen attacks across northeastern Syria, relying on a combination of guerrilla tactics, including small arms fire, ambushes, assassinations, and improvised explosive devices targeting military checkpoints and government vehicles.
—Caroline Rose, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
The researchers believe this error was not from its knowledge base but was an improvised guess based on their prior conversation about the square’s diagonal.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
After Rogen gave a short and seemingly improvised speech, Bargatze returned for a brief monologue.
—Rosa Escandon, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The improvised nature of the production was born in part out of practical necessity.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
One person lies in the street, his head cracked open in a pool of blood, while a boy is carried away on an improvised stretcher.
—Mahmoud Atef, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
His signature moment was the improvised pass to Johnson on the right sideline.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The suspect also had a smoke bomb, or a firework that would produce smoke, but no bomb or improvised explosives were found on the scene, according to O'Hara.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2025
The scene was partly improvised, in the sense that White didn’t know what the song was going to be before cameras rolled.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025
Without access to many kitchen supplies, the women improvised, using wine bottles and shell casings as rolling pins and baking soda tins as cutters.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 17 Oct. 2025
That was completely improvised.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2025
The new settlement wasn’t improvised.
—Miquel Ros, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
The hunter improvised a sleeping bag using a mylar rescue blanket and tarp, rescuers said.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
The works of Rower’s grandfather, taken together, have an accidental, artisanal air—more like toys improvised and reassembled than objects weighed down by deliberation.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Apatow likes to point out, swelling with pride, that then-8-year-old Maude completely improvised her character’s hilarious explanation of where babies come from in Knocked Up.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Deep shots, screens, improvised plays, even a flea-flicker touchdown to Luther Burden III.
—Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Two months later, the group launched more than two dozen attacks across northeastern Syria, relying on a combination of guerrilla tactics, including small arms fire, ambushes, assassinations, and improvised explosive devices targeting military checkpoints and government vehicles.
—Caroline Rose, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
The researchers believe this error was not from its knowledge base but was an improvised guess based on their prior conversation about the square’s diagonal.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
After Rogen gave a short and seemingly improvised speech, Bargatze returned for a brief monologue.
—Rosa Escandon, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The improvised nature of the production was born in part out of practical necessity.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
One person lies in the street, his head cracked open in a pool of blood, while a boy is carried away on an improvised stretcher.
—Mahmoud Atef, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2025
His signature moment was the improvised pass to Johnson on the right sideline.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
The suspect also had a smoke bomb, or a firework that would produce smoke, but no bomb or improvised explosives were found on the scene, according to O'Hara.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
Also, Dylan improvised in a way the Beatles didn’t.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2025
The scene was partly improvised, in the sense that White didn’t know what the song was going to be before cameras rolled.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 20 Oct. 2025
Without access to many kitchen supplies, the women improvised, using wine bottles and shell casings as rolling pins and baking soda tins as cutters.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 17 Oct. 2025
That was completely improvised.
—Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2025
The new settlement wasn’t improvised.
—Miquel Ros, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025
The hunter improvised a sleeping bag using a mylar rescue blanket and tarp, rescuers said.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
The works of Rower’s grandfather, taken together, have an accidental, artisanal air—more like toys improvised and reassembled than objects weighed down by deliberation.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
Apatow likes to point out, swelling with pride, that then-8-year-old Maude completely improvised her character’s hilarious explanation of where babies come from in Knocked Up.
—Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvised
Adjective
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Staff are known to pitch in with impromptu dog-sitting; when one guest had to rush out for a medical emergency, their Bernese mountain dog, Gus, spent the day behind the front desk, name tag and all.—
Beth Landman,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
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Langer said the cast received fan art and impromptu letters from the students recounting their experiences.—
Michelle F. Solomon,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Even so, del Toro has not merely concocted another Whale of a tale.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
28 Oct. 2025
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Each district sends two children as tributes to the fight-to-the-death Hunger Games, concocted by the capitol to keep the populace distracted.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The band’s concerts have become a hallmark of improvisational energy that has attracted a devoted and eclectic fanbase.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
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But that would require some uncharacteristically strategic thinking from a famously improvisational president.—
Christopher Smart,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The British military historian John Keegan revealed the hazards of this kind of planning in his anatomy of the Schlieffen Plan, the German strategy for fighting a two-front continental war that was devised, in 1905, by the chief of the army’s general staff, Alfred von Schlieffen.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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But the California exchange team, too, devised backup plans to contact policyholders and revamp its online marketplace if Congress acts before year's end.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In 2022, Reuters published a report addressing claims circling on social media that the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing was faked.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
30 Oct. 2025
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New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Rozier faked an injury to leave a March 23, 2023, game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Improvised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvised. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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