improvise

[im-pruh-vahyz]

verb (used with object), im·pro·vised, im·pro·vis·ing.

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), im·pro·vised, im·pro·vis·ing.

to compose, utter, execute, or arrange anything extemporaneously: When the actor forgot his lines he had to improvise.

Origin of improvise

1820–30; < French improviser, or its source, Italian improvisare (later improvvisare), verbal derivative of improviso improvised < Latin imprōvīsus, equivalent to im- im-² + prōvīsus past participle of prōvidēre to see beforehand, prepare, provide for (a future circumstance). See proviso

Related formsim·pro·vis·er, im·pro·vi·sor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for improviser

Contemporary Examples of improviser

But if he did very well as a reader on Thursday, he fared much worse as an improviser two days earlier.
Bush is Broken, Frightened, And Plagued By Voices
Justin Frank
January 16, 2009

Historical Examples of improviser

As a listener my Philosopher is no less successful than as an improviser.
By the Christmas Fire
Samuel McChord Crothers
But he appears to have been more of an improviser than a reciter.
Ballads of Romance and Chivalry
Frank Sidgwick
He is not an improviser; his temptations are of another sort.
Epic and Romance
W. P. Ker
But he was an improviser of genius, and Mr. Stevenson was a conscious artist.
Adventures among Books
Andrew Lang
Amateur and improviser of genius, let us praise him as such.
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened
Kenelm Digby

British Dictionary definitions for improviser

improvise

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

Derived Formsimproviser, noun

Word Origin for improvise

C19: from French, from Italian improvvisare, from Latin imprōvīsus unforeseen, from im- (not) + prōvīsus, from prōvidēre to foresee; see provide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for improviser

improvise

1826, back-formation from improvisation, or else from French improviser (17c.), from Italian improvisare "to sing or speak extempore," from improviso, from Latin improvisus "unforeseen, unexpected" (see improvisation). Or possibly a back-formation from improvisation. Related: Improvised; improvising.