improvise
Americanverb (used with object)
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improvises,
present (3rd person singular)
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improvised,
past participle, past
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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.
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to make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available.
We improvised a dinner from yesterday's leftovers.
verb (used without object)
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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
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improvisesimple
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improvisessimple
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have improvisedperfect
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has improvisedperfect
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am improvisingprogressive
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are improvisingprogressive
-
is improvisingprogressive
-
have been improvisingperfect progressive
-
has been improvisingperfect progressive
Past
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improvisedsimple
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had improvisedperfect
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was improvisingprogressive
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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
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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
With no operating table built for the python's size, keepers and vets said they had to improvise by connecting two operating tables together.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
If you like quarterbacks who improvise, Tanner is your guy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
Watch the export miracle turn into a pumpkin or improvise.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
The overall effect sounds as if the drummer, formerly the guardian of the steady pulse, has been asked to improvise a solo from the first beat of the piece.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
But when Cole solos and improvises, it’s more often in single notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
An octet of guest artists improvises in certain passages embedded within the score but also plays written-out music with the rest of the orchestra.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
It’s also a subtler homage than running a tornado through Kansas in black-and-white: Not until Wayne improvises a story for Scotty around “Dorothy” and rainbows does the connection become blazingly apparent.
From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
She improvises her way through what she refuses to regard as a disastrous life, walks around rules that make no sense to her, and steamrolls her way over the objections of lesser mortals.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2023
Laura Keene improvises a line that refers to Lincoln, making the audience turn toward the side of the theater in order to witness his appearance.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
From Batman masks to offline maps, young Indian protesters have responded to one of New Delhi's toughest security crackdowns with improvised tactics designed to evade surveillance and keep demonstrations alive.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
LaManna improvised a stand to hold the fragile scroll while rotating it through an X-ray beam.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
It was improvised, deeply untraditional and exactly the kind of stuffing I wanted to eat again.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Mr. Threadgill, who plays alto saxophone and flute and is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, first assembled this band 25 years ago to further a compositional strategy that is singular and yet invites improvised collaboration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
He improvised an altar in the square and on Sunday he went through the town with a small bell, as in the days of insomnia, calling people to an open-air mass.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
He sometimes rapped his jokes, thrived at improvising and roasted celebrities with sharp punches, leaving them in splits.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Young men, some barefoot, dart around in the sand under the guidance of a volunteer coach improvising drills amid the shouts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
He liked to play loudly, for many hours at a time, improvising ceaseless and whipsawing sagas of frenetic melodies and emphatic blaring and screeching—it was a whole lot of sound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 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
Anyway, some couples were so abandoned—flinging high and wide, improvising steps and movements—that you couldn’t believe it.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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