improvise Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb perform without preparation
    ad-lib; extemporize; improvize; extemporise.
    • he extemporized a speech at the wedding
  2. verb manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand
    extemporize.
    • after the hurricane destroyed our house, we had to improvise for weeks

WordNet

Im`pro*vise" transitive verb
Etymology
F. improviser, it. improvvisare, fr. improvviso unprovided, sudden, extempore, L. improvisus; pref. im- not + provisus foreseen, provided. See Proviso.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Improvised ; present participle & verbal noun Improvising
Definitions
  1. To compose, recite, or sing extemporaneously, especially in verse; to extemporize; also, to play upon an instrument, or to act, extemporaneously.
  2. To bring about, arrange, or make, on a sudden, or without previous preparation.
    Charles attempted to improvise a peace. Motley.
  3. To invent, or provide, offhand, or on the spur of the moment; as, he improvised a hammer out of a stone.
Im`pro*vise" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To produce or render extemporaneous compositions, especially in verse or in music, without previous preparation; hence, to do anything offhand.

Webster 1913