Improvise

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Improvise \Im`pro*vise"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Improvised}; p.
     pr. & vb. n. {Improvising}.] [F. improviser, it.
     improvvisare, fr. improvviso unprovided, sudden, extempore,
     L. improvisus; pref. im- not + provisus foreseen, provided.
     See {Proviso}.]
     1. To compose, recite, or sing extemporaneously, especially


        in verse; to extemporize; also, to play upon an
        instrument, or to act, extemporaneously.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To bring about, arrange, do, or make, immediately or on
        short notice, without previous preparation and with no
        known precedent as a guide.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
              Charles attempted to improvise a peace. --Motley.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To invent, or provide, offhand, or on the spur of the
        moment; as, he improvised a hammer out of a stone.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Improvise \Im`pro*vise"\, v. i.
     To produce or render extemporaneous compositions, especially
     in verse or in music, without previous preparation; hence, to
     do anything offhand.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  improvise
       v 1: perform without preparation; "he extemporized a speech at
            the wedding" [syn: {improvize}, {ad-lib}, {extemporize},
             {extemporise}]
       2: manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand;
          "after the hurricane destroyed our house, we had to
          improvise for weeks" [syn: {extemporize}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "improvise":
     ad lib, ad-lib, be caught napping, be surprised, be taken unawares,
     be unprepared, beget, breed, bring forth, bring into being,
     call into being, coin, conceive, concoct, contrive, cook up,
     dash off, design, develop, devise, discover, do offhand, dream up,
     engender, evolve, extemporize, fabricate, fake, frame, generate,
     give being to, give rise to, go off half-cocked, hatch,
     have no plan, improvisate, invent, jury-rig, knock off, lash up,
     make do, make do with, make up, mature, mint, originate, plan,
     play by ear, procreate, scrap the plan, spawn, strike off,
     strike out, think out, think up, throw off, throw together,
     toss off, toss out, vamp, whip up, whomp up, wing it