What does "improvise" mean?

To make something up or invent it as one goes on; to proceed guided only by imagination, intuition, and guesswork rather than by a careful plan.

What is a synonym for "improvise"?

Common synonyms include: wing it, ad lib, ad-lib, ad-lib, be caught napping, be surprised.

Pronounced //ˈɪmpɹəvaɪz//.

//ˈɪmpɹəvaɪz// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Verb

1
To make something up or invent it as one goes on; to proceed guided only by imagination, intuition, and guesswork rather than by a careful plan.
"He had no speech prepared, so he improvised."
2
perform without preparation wordnet
3
manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand wordnet

"To survive in a hostile environment, one must be able to improvise and be tenacious."

From French improviser; ultimately from Latin improvisus.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.