Improvised

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Made or created spontaneously without prior planning or preparation ; constructed, arranged, or executed using whatever materials or resources are immediately at hand
2. Produced on the spur of the moment without previous design ; formed by making use of whatever supplies or tools are present
3. Devised or performed at the moment without advance thought or rehearsal ; built or assembled from available parts or objects not originally intended for the purpose

Etymology: The verb "improvise" comes from French "improviser," which in turn was borrowed from Italian "improvvisare," meaning to compose or recite on the spot without preparation. The Italian root is Latin "improvisus," "unforeseen," built from "in-" (not) and "providere" (to foresee), the same root that gives English "provide" and "provident." So the word's core idea is simply something not foreseen. Its earliest English uses were tied to music and performance, describing a performer who composed or sang without a written score. The sense of making something from whatever materials happen to be at hand grew out of that performing sense and came later, which is why a jazz soloist and a stranded camper can both be said to improvise.

Synonyms: ad-libbed, extemporized, spontaneous, invented, created

Antonyms: planned, prepared, organized, premeditated, calculated