Etymology : French improviser, from Italian improvvisare, from improvviso sudden, from Latin improvisus, literally, unforeseen, from in- + provisus, past participle of providEre to see:
ahead; more at PROVIDE
Pronunciation : 'im-pr&-"vIz
also "
Function : verb
Date : 1826
1. ad-lib, extemporize, make up on the spur of the moment, perform without advance preparation. 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.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.].
2. to compose, recite, or sing extemporaneously, especially in verse; to extemporize; also, to play upon an instrument, or to act, extemporaneously.
3. to bring about, arrange, or make, on a sudden, or without previous preparation. charles attempted to improvise a peace.
4. to invent, or provide, offhand, or on the spur of the moment; as, he improvised a hammer out of a stone.improvise perform without preparation [syn: improvize, ad-lib, extemporize, extemporise].
5. To compose, recite, or sing extemporaneously, especially in verse; to extemporize; also, to play upon an instrument, or to act, extemporaneously.
6. To bring about, arrange, or make, on a sudden, or without previous preparation.
7. To invent, or provide, offhand, or on the spur of the moment; as, he improvised a hammer out of a stone.
8. To produce or render extemporaneous compositions, especially in verse or in music, without previous preparation; hence, to do anything offhand. perform without preparation; "he extemporized a speech at the wedding" manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand; "after the hurricane destroyed our house, we had to improvise for weeks".
9. 1. If you improvise, you make or do something using whatever you have or without having planned it in advance. You need a wok with a steaming rack for this; if you don't have one, improvise The vet had improvised a harness an improvised stone shelter. + improvisation improvisations im·provi·sa·tion Funds were not abundant and clever improvisation was necessary.
10. When performers improvise, they invent music or words as they play, sing, or speak. I asked her what the piece was and she said, `Oh, I'm just improvising' Uncle Richard intoned a chapter from the Bible and improvised a prayer I think that the art of a storyteller is to take the story and improvise on it. + improvisation improvisations im·provi·sa·tion an improvisation on `Jingle Bells'.