Makeshift things are temporary and usually of poor quality, but they are used because there is nothing better available.
...the cardboard boxes and makeshift shelters of the homeless.
...a makeshift coffee table.
Synonyms: temporary, provisional, make-do, substitute More Synonyms of makeshift
More Synonyms of makeshift
makeshift in British English
(ˈmeɪkˌʃɪft)
adjective
1.
serving as a temporary or expedient means, esp during an emergency
noun
2.
something serving in this capacity
makeshift in American English
(ˈmeɪkˌʃɪft)
noun
1.
a thing that will do for a while as a substitute; temporary expedient
adjective
2.
that will do for a while as a substitute
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈreˌsource
Examples of 'makeshift' in a sentence
makeshift
The father of three is now in a critical condition in a makeshift field clinic.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Conditions in this makeshift camp on the outskirts of the town are appalling.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We've seen harrowing pictures of people left in corridors and on makeshift beds.
The Sun (2017)
Returning in huge numbers, they were put up in makeshift camps and were vigorous critics of the new left-wing government.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Then they return home taking turns in the makeshift beds.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
They rushed him to a makeshift clinic in a basement.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
There are hundreds of makeshift little studios all over the room.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The dome of the mosque that had housed the makeshift hospital had caved in.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
At one time there was a makeshift bed built just inside the front door.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The video footage shows rows of bodies in makeshift clinics.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The chalet was turned into a makeshift hospital.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
And a constant stream of injured protesters were brought into makeshift clinics.
The Sun (2011)
For two months church members fed people porridge and noodles twice a day and made up makeshift beds from the pews.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
They were crammed into makeshift camps, where the conditions were appalling.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
And what better way to protect a vulnerable and makeshift defence than by taking the battle right to the heart of your opponents?
The Sun (2008)
Many are camping out at makeshift transit centres, unable to reach their final destinations.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Police burned more than 300 houses to try to stop the squatters returning and say they must also leave their makeshift camp.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I don't envisage having much time and set up a makeshift studio.
The Sun (2016)
But the busy rapper, below, has turned it into a makeshift studio so he can work on tracks in his downtime.
The Sun (2012)
He converted the basement of a university building into a makeshift prison, randomly selecting half of his students to be "guards" and half to be "prisoners.
Appelbaum, Richard P. Sociology (1995)
In other languages
makeshift
British English: makeshift ADJECTIVE
Makeshift things are temporary and usually of poor quality, but they are used because there is nothing better available.
...the cardboard boxes and makeshift shelters of the homeless.
American English: makeshift
Brazilian Portuguese: provisório
Chinese: 临时凑合的
European Spanish: improvisado
French: provisoire
German: behelfsmäßig
Italian: di fortuna
Japanese: 当座しのぎの
Korean: 임시변통의
European Portuguese: provisório
Latin American Spanish: improvisado
Chinese translation of 'makeshift'
makeshift
(ˈmeɪkʃɪft)
adj
(= temporary) 临(臨)时(時)凑(湊)合的 (línshí còuhe de)
(adjective)
Definition
serving as a temporary substitute
makeshift shelters of branches and leaves
Synonyms
temporary
She was working as a temporary teacher at a Belfast school.
provisional
the possibility of setting up a provisional coalition government
make-do
substitute
She found work as a substitute teacher.
jury mainly nautical)
expedient
rough and ready
Here is a rough and ready measurement.
stopgap
(noun)
Synonyms
stopgap
It is not an acceptable long term solution, just a stopgap.
shift
substitute
She is seeking a substitute while her secretary is on leave.
expedient
I reduced my spending by the simple expedient of destroying my credit cards.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of expedient
Definition
something that achieves a particular purpose
I reduced my spending by the simple expedient of destroying my credit cards.
Synonyms
means,
measure,
scheme,
method,
resource,
resort,
device,
manoeuvre,
expediency,
stratagem,
contrivance,
stopgap,
backstop
in the sense of provisional
Definition
temporary or conditional
the possibility of setting up a provisional coalition government
Synonyms
temporary,
interim,
transitional,
stopgap,
pro tem
in the sense of rough and ready
Definition
hastily prepared but adequate for the purpose
Here is a rough and ready measurement.
Synonyms
makeshift,
adequate,
crude,
provisional,
improvised,
sketchy,
thrown together,
cobbled together,
stopgap
Synonyms of 'makeshift'
makeshift
Explore 'makeshift' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of shift
Definition
a method or scheme
Synonyms
scheme,
move,
resource,
trick,
device,
craft,
dodge,
evasion,
expedient,
ruse,
artifice,
subterfuge,
stratagem,
contrivance,
equivocation,
wile
in the sense of substitute
She found work as a substitute teacher.
Synonyms
replacement,
reserve,
temporary,
surrogate,
second,
acting,
alternative,
additional,
fall-back,
proxy
in the sense of substitute
Definition
a person or thing that takes the place of another, such as a player who takes the place of a team-mate
She is seeking a substitute while her secretary is on leave.