improv

IPA/ˈɪmprɒv/
KK[ˈɪmprˌɑv]IPA/ˈɪmprɑːv/

improv — noun

  • improvsingular
  • improvsplural

1. a style of live performance, usually comedy or acting, where the performers make

1.nounC1
Definition

a style of live performance, usually comedy or acting, where the performers make up the words and actions on the spot instead of following a script.

Example

Liang takes an improv class every Tuesday night at a small theatre in Taipei.

common collocation: improv class

Zuri joined a college improv group and now performs weekly shows on campus.

collocation: improv group

Common collocations
  • improv class
  • improv group
  • improv troupe
  • improv show
  • do improv
  • perform improv
Synonyms
  • improvisation

    the fuller, more formal form; used in writing and across music as well as theatre

  • ad-lib

    usually a single unplanned line rather than a whole performance style

Antonyms

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable; treated as a discipline or genre. Short for 'improvisation' and far more common in everyday speech about comedy and acting.

Common Mistakes

I watched an improv last night.
I watched some improv last night.' or 'I watched an improv show last night.
'improv' is uncountable; use 'a show / a sketch / a class' as the countable head.

improv — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words point to performing without a script, but learners use them in different settings. 'Improv' is the everyday short form, heard most often in comedy and acting circles — 'I take improv classes on weekends'. 'Improvisation' is the fuller, more formal noun and extends beyond theatre to music, dance, and even cooking — 'jazz improvisation', 'a chef's improvisation with leftover vegetables'. 'Ad-lib' usually means a single unplanned remark added into an otherwise prepared speech or scene — 'the actor's funniest ad-lib got the biggest laugh'. 'Extemporization' is rare and academic, used in writing about music theory or rhetoric; almost no one says it in casual conversation.

improv ↗improvisation ↗ad-lib ↗extemporization

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • do improv
  • perform improv
  • take an improv class
  • improv comedy

Prepositions

  • based on
  • in (the style of)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

A late-twentieth-century shortening of 'improvisation', which itself came into English from French 'improvisation' and ultimately from Latin 'improvisus' meaning 'not foreseen' (from 'in-' 'not' + 'provisus' 'foreseen, provided for'). The short form 'improv' spread from American theatre and stand-up comedy scenes in the 1960s–70s and is now the default term in spoken English.