as in devising
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 improvising
Beverly D'Angelo discussed improvising a scandalous hand gesture in Christmas Vacation.
—
Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2025
The franchise already has its playbook, and judging by social media reactions, Blumhouse ran it without improvising for the win.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Dec. 2025
The country is still bruised, unbalanced and improvising.
—Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
During an early rehearsal, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande began improvising a goodbye — speaking, not singing — with their arms wrapped around each other in a corner of the room.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Cohen was involved every step of the way, hitting his marks, taking notes on what could be improved, and even improvising to make the run-through more entertaining.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025
As Swift makes clear, the Theatre endured only because Burbage was good at improvising and snookering his business partners.
—Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
In the Adams formulation, the true history was about chance, contingency, and unintended consequences, about political leaders who were all improvising on the edge of catastrophe.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
As a member of the Soultronics, as the 13-person touring band was called, Hamilton stood harmonizing and improvising behind the man who was crafting a new foundation for soul music.
—Elise Brisco, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Dec. 2025
The franchise already has its playbook, and judging by social media reactions, Blumhouse ran it without improvising for the win.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Dec. 2025
The country is still bruised, unbalanced and improvising.
—Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
During an early rehearsal, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande began improvising a goodbye — speaking, not singing — with their arms wrapped around each other in a corner of the room.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Nov. 2025
Cohen was involved every step of the way, hitting his marks, taking notes on what could be improved, and even improvising to make the run-through more entertaining.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025
As Swift makes clear, the Theatre endured only because Burbage was good at improvising and snookering his business partners.
—Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
In the Adams formulation, the true history was about chance, contingency, and unintended consequences, about political leaders who were all improvising on the edge of catastrophe.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
As a member of the Soultronics, as the 13-person touring band was called, Hamilton stood harmonizing and improvising behind the man who was crafting a new foundation for soul music.
—Elise Brisco, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvising
Verb
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Companies are actively devising strategies to counteract muscle loss in people taking the drugs.—
Isabella Cueto,
STAT,
29 Dec. 2025
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Sondheim got to work at eight o’clock one night, devising a version of the murder game in which all the players would have to use their wits to untangle the mystery.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
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So is facing a deluge of division title-winners who spent the offseason concocting new ways to beat them.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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Notably, the computers seem to have a knack for concocting bizarre physics experiments — designs that humans wouldn’t think of, which nevertheless work.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The 27-year-old solo travel content creator, who has gone viral for traveling to destinations across the globe for just 24 hours, is pushing back against rumors that his content is staged after followers accused him of faking his trips.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
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Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were also recently accused of faking publicity to try to look better.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
13 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Improvising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvising. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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