as in devising
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 improvising
Well after midnight, after two long pieces—and an hour of improvising—Jarrett brought the music to a delicate close.
—
Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
The breakthrough came when Tash resurfaced months-old recordings of the two casually improvising at the piano.
—Alison Weinflash, Rolling Stone, 1 May 2026
Indeed, before an August 2025 show at Los Angeles’ Lodge Room, the IVTet convened at Parker’s home studio to rehearse for two days, to return to the act of improvising together.
—Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Apr. 2026
She’s assisted by Dakota (Whitney Peak), the film’s other, younger heroine, who at one point makes her way over a floating rooftop and rickety branches, improvising the acrobatics of survival.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, New Yorkers have been improvising.
—Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The group sings and harmonizes with the instruments, improvising every now and then.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
That's all Masali just improvising.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026
Daniel, Chris’s father, has been searching for him ever since, along the banks of the Vistula River, improvising methods and means of investigation.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026
Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
The breakthrough came when Tash resurfaced months-old recordings of the two casually improvising at the piano.
—Alison Weinflash, Rolling Stone, 1 May 2026
Indeed, before an August 2025 show at Los Angeles’ Lodge Room, the IVTet convened at Parker’s home studio to rehearse for two days, to return to the act of improvising together.
—Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Apr. 2026
She’s assisted by Dakota (Whitney Peak), the film’s other, younger heroine, who at one point makes her way over a floating rooftop and rickety branches, improvising the acrobatics of survival.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, New Yorkers have been improvising.
—Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The group sings and harmonizes with the instruments, improvising every now and then.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
That's all Masali just improvising.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026
Daniel, Chris’s father, has been searching for him ever since, along the banks of the Vistula River, improvising methods and means of investigation.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for improvising
Verb
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Counties across the state have been pondering this crisis and devising solutions that can be accomplished in partnership with our state leaders — because this crisis is unquestionably our shared responsibility to solve.—
Monica Montgomery Steppe,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 May 2026
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Rue frantically offered to help get Alamo's money back, calling Faye (Chloe Cherry) up on the phone and devising a plan to get a safe key from Wayne (Toby Wallace).—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Verb
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And she’s spent a decade scaling her brand into an industry disrupter; Ellsworth began concocting prebiotic drinks in 2015, founding her business just one year later.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
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According to the report, workers illegally pocketed between $20,000 and more than $41,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans from a massive federal COVID-19 pandemic relief effort – some by concocting companies that didn't exist to pocket federal assistance funds.—
Chris Tye,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The city has been wildly overspending, faking a balanced budget with rosy projections of revenue and raids on the city’s budget reserves.—
Susan Shelley,
Daily News,
13 May 2026
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Many ships still in the Persian Gulf switched off their AIS location transponders, or were faking their locations this week, a CBS News analysis found Wednesday.—
May 6,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Improvising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/improvising. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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