as in to devise
to perform, make, or do without preparation
since the award was a complete surprise, I improvised an acceptance speech
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Recent Examples of improvise
Our director, Scott Cooper, gave me a lot of latitude to improvise and embroider.
—
Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Feb. 2025
There were no train wrecks, although Bill Murray’s seemingly improvised schtick and a messy Post Malone/Nirvana crossover episode fell short of expectations.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Feb. 2025
The goal was not to do the most precise impression so much as to feel comfortable enough to forget about doing all the tics and instead live in (and improvise as) the character.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
Kansas City’s offense isn’t as impressive as the past two seasons, so Mahomes has had to improvise.
—Owen Hayes, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Feb. 2025
There were no train wrecks, although Bill Murray’s seemingly improvised schtick and a messy Post Malone/Nirvana crossover episode fell short of expectations.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Feb. 2025
The goal was not to do the most precise impression so much as to feel comfortable enough to forget about doing all the tics and instead live in (and improvise as) the character.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025
Kansas City’s offense isn’t as impressive as the past two seasons, so Mahomes has had to improvise.
—Owen Hayes, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for improvise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise
Verb
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To make this work, Dykstra devised a way to combine a film camera with a computer, enabling each ship-miniature movement to be repeated precisely over multiple runs, at different angles: a system known as motion control.—
Benny Har-Even,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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With the annual awards show slated to stream live on Hulu for the first time, alongside its regular broadcast on ABC, Disney devised packages that took sponsorships well beyond the program itself.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Matthew Rankin, a Canadian historian and prankster, has concocted a starkly enchanting Winnipeg where Farsi is the main language of storefronts, guided tours and everyday grievances, like the woman who gripes about sharing a bus with a live turkey.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Feb. 2025
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Taking this idea and combining it with an attention to convenience and versatility while cooking, Heinz concocted three new products ready to be devoured.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The future, instead, seems to belong to the teams and coaches who are willing to be a little more flexible and see their role as providing a platform on which their players might extemporize.—
Rory Smith,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2023
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Friends said he was talented and could extemporize about anything.—
Jacques Kelly,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Improvise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvise. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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