Meaning
Improvise means to create, perform, or provide something without preparation, often by using the resources immediately available. It refers to inventing or adapting spontaneously, especially when faced with unexpected situations.
Grammar and Usage
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Part of speech: Verb
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Transitive/Intransitive: Can be both
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Common patterns:
- improvise something → to make or perform something without preparation.
- improvise on/upon something → to create a variation or adaptation based on something existing.
Examples of sentence structures:
- He improvised a speech when the microphone failed.
- The musician improvised on the melody.
Common Phrases
- improvise a speech
- improvise a solution
- improvise music/jazz
- improvise tools from materials
- improvise dialogue
Collocations
- Verb + improvise: learn to improvise, try to improvise, manage to improvise
- Noun + improvise: music, plan, performance, solution, story
- Adverb + improvise: skillfully improvise, quickly improvise, completely improvise
Examples
- The actor forgot his lines and had to improvise.
- We didn’t have a hammer, so she improvised with a rock.
- The jazz pianist loves to improvise during live shows.
- When the power went out, the teacher improvised a lesson using only the chalkboard.
- He improvised a shelter from branches and leaves.
- The comedian is known for being able to improvise jokes on the spot.
- In emergencies, doctors sometimes need to improvise medical equipment.
- The kids improvised a game using empty boxes and sticks.
Synonyms or Related
- Synonyms: invent, extemporize, devise, concoct, contrive
- Related phrases: make up, think on one’s feet, wing it
