improvised 1 of 2

adjective

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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improvised

2 of 2

verb

past tense of improvise
as in devised
to perform, make, or do without preparation since the award was a complete surprise, I improvised an acceptance speech

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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 improvised
Adjective
The piece contends that the threat warrants advance legal planning rather than reliance on improvised responses after a disruption occurs. — Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026 Comedian TaTa Sherise headlines 50 Worst Dates, an improvised comedy series, while Broadway veterans Kristine Covillo and Ben Davis star in ReelArc’s psychological thriller Zero Point. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026 As Yusuf helps Abu Khalil with his historical reenactment and builds his public profile through social media, the three become an improvised family. — Ed Meza, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 The 1986 film Frauenträume (Women’s Dreams), for instance, includes flight experiments on rooftops, love acts with an improvised rocket, and the emergence of a third breast at the center of a torso. — Elisa R. Linn, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026 That's enough to loosen steep slopes where some of the 210,000 islanders live off the grid in improvised housing. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026 The idea of full abolition—beloved by both leaders but not part of the Reykjavik agenda—was an improvised moment, almost an accident, and not some premeditated masterstroke (as the movie implies) by Reagan. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026 It is supposed to almost feel improvised and documentary-like. — Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026 Likewise, the respite afforded by the twin hydration breaks has also reduced the need for improvised periods of gentlemanly repose, which in turn has lessened the demand for the chilly spray. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 July 2026
Verb
Marina Warner Possessed of Alchemystic Powers Ithell Colquhoun improvised with Surrealist and occult divinatory techniques in her paintings, and also in her writing—and in this lies her true originality. — Conor Heffernan, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026 Fans who didn’t have one of those improvised by using their phone lights to join in. — Natalia Cano, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2026 After that kitchen scene, his character heads to work but slips in the driveway, which McDonald said was completely improvised. — Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026 The family and courts then improvised around evidentiary power that nobody had planned for. — Jihun Joun, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026 The people who had improvised their way through 2016 had a playbook by 2020. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 17 Sep. 2026 And props are improvised so that pool noodles are used for jousting and an earbud case serves as an engagement ring. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 Sharing the bill was David Rothenberg, a professor and a jazz musician who has improvised with collaborators including leafhoppers and humpback whales. — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 The crew also improvised wedding attire and accessories using items from the plane. — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvised
  1. impromptu
  2. devised
  3. improvisational
  4. concocted
  5. faked
Adjective
  • Then Sean moves away and grows up to become a spy who, after wrapping up a mission involving smuggling a nuclear warhead for reasons unknown, decides to pay an impromptu visit to his tweenage buddies.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The impromptu opening bar scene includes friends of Claire’s from her work, her parents and brother Caleb, flown in from Dubuque.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of impromptu
Verb
  • The results suggested that the idea of using messenger RNA to train the immune system to attack cancer cells — an approach first devised decades ago — was ripe for further drug development.
    — Allison DeAngelis, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Teams devised an unprecedented bit of spaceship surgery to replace the valve without draining the propellant and disassembling the spacecraft, steps that would have triggered a much longer delay.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of devised
Adjective
  • These findings suggest that the audience for conversations about the soul is not shrinking, but shifting away from organized religion and toward more personal, improvisational forms of seeking.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Last month, at the Earl Scruggs Music Festival in Western North Carolina, MGU rolled through an hour-long set of new material from Appalachian Smoke and intricate improvisational jams.
    — Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of improvisational
Verb
  • Martha’s concocted plenty over the years, including her cider-bourbon cocktail made with apple cider, bourbon, lemon juice, ginger, and apple garnishes.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The young lady had specially flown in from New York and Alan had concocted a piece of simple blackmail.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of concocted
Verb
  • With the Seminoles staring at the end zone from the 4-yard line, Daniels faked the pitch left, kept the football and charged straight up the middle, steamrolling through Virginia safety Christian Ellis before crashing into the end zone.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026
  • On a first-and-goal play from the 6-yard line, Williams faked a handoff and wheeled around to his left.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of faked

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Cite this Entry

“Improvised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvised. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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