improvise
Make it up
To improvise is to create or perform something without preparation, working with whatever materials or ideas are at hand.
A musician improvises a solo, a cook improvises dinner from leftovers, an actor improvises dialogue when forgetting lines.
The word implies resourcefulness—making do in the moment rather than following a plan.
We forgot the tent poles, so we improvised with branches.
Create something new
- concoctInvent or devise
- deviseCreate through ingenuity
- cobble togetherAssemble hastily from whatever's available
- jury-rigImprovise temporary repair
whip up · dream up · make do · wing it · fabricate · contrive · ad-lib · extemporize
Change to fit better
- pivotPoint of rotation
- modifyChange partially
- workaroundMakeshift bypass of difficulty
- reconfigureAlter system arrangement
rework · tweak · substitute · repurpose · MacGyver · kludge · hack · patch
Informal improvisational music gathering
- riffRepeated musical phrase
- soloPerformance by one
- vampAlluring seductress
- noodleLong thin pasta strand
call and response · embellishment · ornamentation · cadenza · variation · modulation · fills · break
Dramatic unit or locale
- sketchHasty informal drawing
- offerProposal to provide
- blockingImpeding forward progress
- characterNature, symbol, or role
callback · ensemble · troupe · short-form · long-form · endowment · justification · heightening
invent
Create something new
- concoctInvent or devise
- deviseCreate through ingenuity
- cobble togetherAssemble hastily from whatever's available
jury-rig · whip up · dream up · make do · wing it · fabricate · contrive · ad-lib · extemporize · fashion
adjust
Change to fit better
- pivotPoint of rotation
- modifyChange partially
- workaroundMakeshift bypass of difficulty
reconfigure · rework · tweak · substitute · repurpose · MacGyver · kludge · hack · patch · stopgap
jam
Cooked fruit spread
licks · comping · bebop · swing · fusion · modal · syncopation · groove · vamp · changes
jam session
Informal improvisational music gathering
noodle · call and response · embellishment · ornamentation · cadenza · variation · modulation · fills · break · interlude
scene
Dramatic unit or locale
character · callback · ensemble · troupe · short-form · long-form · endowment · justification · heightening · game
- improvisationad lib, freestyle, ad-lib, improv, extemporaneous
- improvisemake do, wing it, ad-lib, jury-rig, cobble together
- Quick Decisionssnap judgment, gut feeling, impulse buy, quick pick, on the fly
- inventinvent, devise, create, conceive, come up with
- performingperform, sing, play, act, dance
- Quick Fixesduct tape fix, band-aid, superglue, duct tape, safety pin
improviseplan
Detailed proposal for achieving
prepare · rehearse · practice · premeditate · practise
improvisescript
Written words for performance
choreograph · orchestrate · design · compose · arrange
- jazz improvisationSpontaneous musical composition during performance
- improvisational comedyUnscripted comedic performance
- musical improvisationSpontaneous live music creation
- improvisational theaterSpontaneous dramatic performance
- improvised comedyUnplanned comedic performance
- improvised explosive deviceCrude weapon from everyday materials
improvised, improvisation, improvising, improvises, improvisational, improviser, improvisations, improvisers