makeshift
Other forms: makeshifts
If you have to use a garbage can lid as a sled or a set of drapes as a ball gown, then you know what it means to put together a makeshift creation. Something makeshift has been improvised, thrown together with whatever is around.
What's interesting about makeshift is the way it can vary in meaning from approval to criticism. Those people trapped on the island in Lost? They came up with some pretty cool makeshift tents and survival ideas. But a government described as makeshift, for example, probably has little going for it.
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done or made using whatever is available
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something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency
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Vocabulary lists containing makeshift
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A boy named Salva struggles to survive after being separated from his family in war-torn Sudan. A girl named Nya spends hours each day collecting water for her parents and sister. Their lives eventually intersect in this novel based on a true story.