improvised 1 of 2

improvised

2 of 2

verb

past tense of improvise

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 improvised
Adjective
Across La Guaira, the coastal state hardest-hit by the disaster, and in parts of Caracas, thousands of residents are spending nights outdoors in plazas, parks, sports courts and improvised encampments, sleeping on mattresses, blankets and folding chairs. Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 June 2026 Eventually, the rewrite and actors workshop rehearsal combined — a two-week period in which Jones, McCormick, Wilde, Rogen, Cruz, and Norton acted out, improvised scenes, and, most importantly, talked about characters. Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 24 June 2026 Víg had no prior experience composing for film, and the project – which relied heavily on documentary aesthetics and improvised performance – made for a steep learning curve. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 June 2026 Intersections became improvised plazas, clotted with bodies. Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 June 2026 Detectives who reviewed surveillance footage from the area along with evidence at the scene determined that the suspect used a rock to break a window and started fire using an improvised incendiary device, according to police. Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 17 June 2026 Garbage piles now choke nearly every Havana street corner, filling neighborhoods with stench, flies and rats as residents navigate improvised dumps outside homes, hospitals and busy thoroughfares. Andrea Rodríguez, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026 All-Stars will perform an improvised version of the award-winning podcast. Caroline Ritzie, Cincinnati Enquirer, 31 May 2026 Now, those nightly improvised tangents have become one of the production's most beloved elements. Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 May 2026
Verb
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 Grubbs will release a duo record with fellow avant-garde guitar hero Loren Connors, Somewhere in the Wind, on July 31, and is also prepping Bright Madness, his third improvised LP with musicians Wendy Eisenberg and Bonner Kramer for a late September release. Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 25 June 2026 Recorded live over two days at Electrical Audio in Chicago, BASIC was largely improvised. Jason P. Woodbury, Pitchfork, 22 June 2026 French Economy Minister Roland Lescure, who attended the dinner, described the signing as largely improvised. ABC News, 18 June 2026 Professional sports are better equipped to withstand a culture increasingly saturated by gambling because the rules are bargained, not improvised. Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2026 The show, partly scripted and partly improvised, relies heavily on audience participation and a willingness to be vulnerable. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 10 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvised
Adjective
  • Videos of every speech, impromptu press conference and gaff circulate on social media.
    Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 25 June 2026
  • The impromptu match, published on X June 20, formed part of NASA's push to explain how space relates to soccer.
    Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 24 June 2026
Verb
  • There’s everything from herbals like rhubarb and nettle to green teas and Fortnum’s own signature blends, like Wedding Breakfast or Jubilee, devised in honor of the Queen’s Diamond celebrations in 2012.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 June 2026
  • In addition to removing the commission’s direct authority over the chief job, Houston — who devised his proposal with Council President Kevin Jenkins — sought to eliminate a selection panel that appoints four of the commission’s members, allowing the council to handpick them instead.
    Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 24 June 2026
Adjective
  • At the same time, Wilde wanted an improvisational rehearsal process in which the actors could discover and breathe life into the characters.
    Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 24 June 2026
  • The wild card is Chicago alto saxophonist Lenard Simpson, a prodigious young player known for his impassioned improvisational flights.
    Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • In the one that opens the film, Forky (Tony Hale), the googly-eyed spork, marries a plastic knife called Karen Beverly (Melissa Villaseñor), a name so perfectly unmelodious that only a kid, or an adult exceptionally good at thinking like one, could have concocted it.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
  • Every detail is accurate, though the picture as a whole is an invention, concocted from multiple views, locations, and studies.
    Susan Tallman, The Atlantic, 13 June 2026
Verb
  • Parker was a mother of two children who faked a pregnancy while in a relationship with Wade Griffin in 2020.
    Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 24 June 2026
  • Unlike its predecessors, physical capability can’t be purchased overnight, outsourced, or faked for long.
    Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Improvised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvised. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on improvised

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster