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.
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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
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improvising
present participle
verb
-
to perform or make quickly from materials and sources available, without previous planning
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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 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
The scale of the disaster has overwhelmed local services, forcing institutions to improvise.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Part of becoming a confident cook is learning how to improvise your way through a recipe.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026
I improvise, trying to sound as though I am reciting a memorized message, without inflection in the words.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
“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
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
A diabetic, she improvises a cooler for her insulin after each flood cuts power.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 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
“Melvin was in the gifted-and-talented program at his old school,” my mom quickly improvises.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
Rosales is aware that the world has its eyes on L.A. and that people everywhere are learning the cultural vernacular improvised by Cali’s brown folks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
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
That meant Leo had only himself, his bag of junk food, and a few highly improvised weapons made from sugar and toothpaste.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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
For example, because improvising music is far more complex than imitating basic patterns, the latter is required in order to perform the former.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
