improvision

English

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɪm.pɹəˈvɪʒ.ən/

Etymology 1

From im- +‎ provision.

Noun

improvision (plural improvisions)

(obsolete) the lack of provision, a failure to provide something
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.2:
  there would be a main defect, and her improvision justly accusable, if such a feeding animal […] should want a proper conveyance for choler, or have no other receptacle for that humour than the veins and general mass of blood.

Etymology 2

From improvise +‎ -ion.

Noun

improvision (plural improvisions)

the act of improvising, or something improvised; improvisation
- 1948 October, Alexander Maxwell, “Gauges—the Guide to Perfection”, in Popular Mechanics‎^[1], volume 90, number 4, Hearst Magazines, →ISSN, page 250:
  A similar improvision, a modification of the device used to measure the planar ways (photo 8), makes several measurements at once.
- 1987, John Davis, “The Libyan Contribution”, in Libyan Politics: Tribe and Revolution: An Account of the Zuwaya and their Government‎^[2], University of California Press, published 1988, →ISBN, page 248:
  It was a revolution grounded in exoterics, which may account in some part for the general air of naivety and improvision which surrounds it.
- 1991, Martine Millon, Oliver Ortolanai, quoting Yoshi Oida, “Energy and the Ensemble: Actors' Perspectives”, in David Williams, editor, Peter Brook and the Mahabharata: Critical Perspectives‎^[3], Part II Practitioners' accounts, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 108:
  There are two general conceptions of improvision. The first, commonly applied is of a rather romantic woolly kind. It suggests that anything can happen in improvisation.
- 2005, Daniel Gilbert Perret, Roots of Musicality: Music Therapy and Personal Development‎^[4], Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, Appendix 7: Improvisation Techniques in Music Therapy, page 177:
  Tonal centring: Providing a tonal centre, scale, or harmonic ground as a base for the client's improvision