improvise
Americanverb (used with object)
-
improvises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
improvised,
past participle, past
-
improvising
present participle
-
to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation; extemporize.
to improvise an acceptance speech.
-
to compose, play, recite, or sing (verse, music, etc.) on the spur of the moment.
-
to make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available.
We improvised a dinner from yesterday's leftovers.
verb (used without object)
-
improvises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
improvised,
past participle, past
-
improvising
present participle
verb
-
to perform or make quickly from materials and sources available, without previous planning
-
to perform (a poem, play, piece of music, etc), composing as one goes along
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
improvisesimple
-
improvisessimple
-
have improvisedperfect
-
has improvisedperfect
-
am improvisingprogressive
-
are improvisingprogressive
-
is improvisingprogressive
-
have been improvisingperfect progressive
-
has been improvisingperfect progressive
Past
-
improvisedsimple
-
had improvisedperfect
-
was improvisingprogressive
-
were improvisingprogressive
-
had been improvisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of improvise
First recorded in 1820–30; from French improviser, or its source, Italian improvisare (later improvvisare ), verbal derivative of improviso “improvised,” from Latin imprōvīsus, equivalent to im- “un-” + prōvīsus, past participle of prōvidēre “to see beforehand, prepare, provide for (a future circumstance)”; see im- 2, proviso
Explanation
To improvise means to make something up on the spot, or figure it out as you go. "Our boss decided to improvise his speech at our company meeting and when he started going off-topic, everyone could tell he hadn't prepared in advance." Improvise comes from the Latin word improvisus, meaning "unforeseen, unexpected." Think about when something unexpected happens to you — you have no choice but to react in the moment, or improvise. Another meaning for improvise refers to acting onstage without a script. When actors improvise scenes for an audience, they create funny situations as they go, without having anything pre-planned. The Second City theater in Chicago made this type of comedy famous, with many well-known alumni like Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.
Vocabulary lists containing improvise
Music - Introductory
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
30 GRE Words Beginning with "I"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Stargirl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A cybersecurity incident at a private contractor has halted the nation’s bankruptcy-noticing system for a week, forcing courts across the country to improvise emergency measures as the company works to restore service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
But Meg is a true comedian in that she understands not only how to improvise within the lane of the scene, but also the give and take.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Watch the export miracle turn into a pumpkin or improvise.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
As producer he helps the children prepare for interviews and research their guests, but encourages them to improvise and follow the direction of an interview rather than sticking to a set script.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
But we were going to have to improvise.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
But when Cole solos and improvises, it’s more often in single notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
The animatronic improvises in conversation based on a story outline written by Woliner and Notarnicola.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
Performed in pairs, it is led by the first and most prominent pair which improvises various figures, such as raising joined hands to form bridges under which other dancers can pass.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2024
Gilles improvises; not knowing a lick of Persian, he invents words, eventually using the names of prisoners kept in a logbook as mnemonic devices to develop his fictional tongue.
From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
He sings and improvises his own poems while he plays.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The army has set up an improvised morgue in Toledo because the city's existing facility could not receive all the corpses.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
British counterterrorism police said Tuesday that the vans didn’t contain improvised explosives, but they recovered some fuel in the vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
LaManna improvised a stand to hold the fragile scroll while rotating it through an X-ray beam.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
And props are improvised so that pool noodles are used for jousting and an earbud case serves as an engagement ring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
At Tutwiler, women are crammed into dormitories and improvised living spaces.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
For Leon Berkers, whose restaurant boat has been stuck in the mud for more than a month, adaptation has so far meant improvising fixes to keep "pots and pans from flying around."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
He sometimes rapped his jokes, thrived at improvising and roasted celebrities with sharp punches, leaving them in splits.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Israeli soldiers in Lebanon said that units were scrambling and were now improvising solutions such as covering military equipment and outposts with nets to trap the drones, a method Ukraine has long relied on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Greek yogurt is one of the few ingredients that has matched my energy in the kitchen: constantly improvising, making it work with what I got, and never letting things go to waste.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026
Therefore I propose that someone with a keen sense of the theatrical, a talent for mimicry and improvising dialogue—a playwright, perhaps?—be engaged as an understudy to the ghost, as it were.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
