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
Quarterback Lamar Jackson has done a great job of being able to improvise and extend plays.
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Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 2 Jan. 2025
That's Pretty Incredible' (Exclusive) Director Jon Favreau, however, decided that Acheson was going to improvise with Ferrell, now 57.
—Marina Watts, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Now that their kids are bigger, the two women are improvising on the tradition by hosting a walking hot-chocolate party to see the displays.
—Francine Kiefer, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2024
Based on a structure and suggested dialogue, a lot of it is improvised, so a lot of it comes out of our own hearts and minds and mouths and that’s what Nathan Silver, the director, wants.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for improvise 
Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 2 Jan. 2025
That's Pretty Incredible' (Exclusive) Director Jon Favreau, however, decided that Acheson was going to improvise with Ferrell, now 57.
—Marina Watts, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Now that their kids are bigger, the two women are improvising on the tradition by hosting a walking hot-chocolate party to see the displays.
—Francine Kiefer, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2024
Based on a structure and suggested dialogue, a lot of it is improvised, so a lot of it comes out of our own hearts and minds and mouths and that’s what Nathan Silver, the director, wants.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for improvise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvise
Verb
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Plans are devised to miss an hour of work to catch the second half of an unexpectedly tight game between a ranked power conference team and a frisky mid-major.Mark Schindler, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
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The grant money will initially go to the state of North Carolina, and the governor’s office will devise a plan for how to distribute it, HUD spokesperson Zachary Nosanchuk said.Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In what may well be a spy movie for actual adults, director Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp concoct a moody drama steeped in espionage, marital trust issues and, one hopes, prime opportunities for playing the pause, the side-eye and the steely glare along with the words.Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 2 Jan. 2025
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Years later, both young women said under oath that police pressured them, using aggressive interrogation tactics that led them to concoct stories about Cox that were not true.Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
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
Thesaurus Entries Near improvise
Cite this Entry
“Improvise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvise. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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