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
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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
Music - Introductory
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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:
“But when the time comes to improvise, I find it difficult. That still doesn’t come naturally to me in English.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Watch the export miracle turn into a pumpkin or improvise.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Government contingency plans had "never been stress tested" and officials and ministers were "forced to improvise, establishing new emergency procurement and distribution systems within days".
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
This season is less about surviving on a student budget and more about helping home cooks waste less, improvise more and look at what’s already in the fridge or pantry with confidence.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
The staggering fact is that Bach could improvise fugues like this at the keyboard, and often did.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
“But she’s not a scat singer. She improvises more in the technique of the Baroque period, expanding and contracting phrases or adding trills that deviate from the melody.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
TJ Lateef improvises and fires 45-yard TD pass to Tyler Hennessy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024
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
In one song, “Are You Blue,” O’Hara improvises with the band, her otherworldly soprano a contrast to the splintery score.
From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
“Melvin was in the gifted-and-talented program at his old school,” my mom quickly improvises.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
A new study led by researchers at the University of Bologna suggests that the markings were far more organized than simple scratches or improvised decorations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
On a street in Central Havana, Mayumis Nunez wakes up on an improvised bed in front of the building where she lived for years.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
The composer improvised his way through the initial stages of “Pray for a Storm,” his high-energy collaboration with famed drummer Stewart Copeland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Helicopters carrying aid have landed at the improvised hospital and those who lost their homes during the quake are being provided with food, water and clothes.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
“In a—a fan magazine,” he improvised wildly and Krum looked mollified.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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
At times, the piano players in his groups would simply back off during part of Rollins’ solos, loath to risk following the twisting pathways of his improvising.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 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
Tools for emergency, tow lines, a small block and tackle, a trenching tool and crowbar, tools for making and fixing and improvising.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions 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.
