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im·pro·vise
 improvise
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- pronunciation:
- Im
pr
vaIz
- parts of speech:
- transitive verb, intransitive verb
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb), Word History, Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
improvises, improvising, improvised |
| definition 1: |
to create or provide without preparation or practice, esp. in music, speech, or writing.
She didn't have time to prepare a speech, so she improvised one.He didn't have his music with him, so he just improvised something.- similar words:
- ad-lib
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| definition 2: |
to construct or compose from whatever materials are available or handy.
We improvised a shelter using fallen branches.- similar words:
- contrive, patch, rig
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| related words: |
compose, devise, invent |
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| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| definition 1: |
to meet the needs of the moment by creating, saying, or doing something in a spontaneous, unplanned way.
It was a tough question that she didn't have a ready-made answer for, so she had to improvise.- similar words:
- ad-lib, play it by ear
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| definition 2: |
to compose new music in the act of playing it.
They start out playing as the music is written, then they improvise.- similar words:
- ad-lib
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| related words: |
compose, jam, play |
adverb + (v.)improvise
constantly, freely, hastily, individually, largely, occasionally, solo
(v.)improvise
+ adverb
along, creatively, desperately, melodically, musically, rhythmically, spontaneously
(v.)improvise
+ noun
accompaniment,
blue,
comedy,
container,
creativity,
cue,
dance,
device,
dialogue,
drama,
drum,
duet,
experiment,
explosive,
fragment,
harmony,
improvisation,
keyboard,
lyric,
melody,
mode,
music,
note,
novelty,
ostinato,
pattern,
performance,
phrase,
piano,
pitch,
rhythm,
riff,
scene,
shelter,
solo,
solution,
song,
style,
theme,
tune,
variation,
version,
xylophone
[See all][See only the most frequent]
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Improvise comes from improvviso, an Italian word that means "not prepared" or "not known in advance."
The word improvise
contains the following part:
im-2
Latin
prefix
that means not, without
  More about this word part:
The prefix im-2 occurs in Latin loanwords. It is an assimilated form of in-2 used before roots beginning with the letter "m," "p," and "b." See in-2.
Example words:
imbalance, immaculate, immaterial, immature, immediate, immiscible, immobile, immodest, immortal, immovable, immune, immutable, impalpable, impartial, impassable, impatient, impeccable, impecunious, impenitent, imperfect, impermeable, impermissible, impersonal, imperturbable, impervious, implacable, implausible, impolite, imponderable, impossible, impotent, impregnable, improper, impropriety, improvise, imprudent, impudent, impunity, impure
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