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)
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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:
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
“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
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
"After," I say again, beginning to improvise an explanation.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
“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
She improvises with video calls, but knows other women have lost jobs because they cannot work effectively.
From Reuters ● Mar. 23, 2023
“Melvin was in the gifted-and-talented program at his old school,” my mom quickly improvises.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
It was improvised, deeply untraditional and exactly the kind of stuffing I wanted to eat again.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
For Newcastle's second, Sean Steur's corner was headed down by fellow substitute Nick Woltemade and Wissa improvised with a clever overhead kick to double his side's lead.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
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
Unlike in 1986, when many of the artifacts, especially the elephant tusks, decomposed after being exposed to the open air, Ran improvised a new system for the dig.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
I wonder if they created drawings and stencils first, or if they just grabbed their cans of spray paint and improvised.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
There’s an inventiveness here that comes from the sprawl of the city — artists like myself who are constantly improvising, building their own ecosystems because nothing is handed to them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
He sometimes rapped his jokes, thrived at improvising and roasted celebrities with sharp punches, leaving them in splits.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The crew found "a harmony" like "dancing together", taking no special direction and improvising a lot.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 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
People stopped sleeping in their houses, terrified at the thought that such a disaster could recur, improvising tents in open spaces or sleeping in the middle of squares and streets.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
