'makeshift' implies something put together from basic materials for an urgent need, not just a short-term rental.
She wore her sister's makeshift dress to the party.
She wore her sister's old dress to the party.
'makeshift' is for improvised solutions to a practical problem, not for hand-me-downs or second-hand items.
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
All five words describe something that is not the final or ideal version, but they differ in what they highlight. 'Makeshift' stresses that an object was thrown together from whatever materials were handy, often with a noticeably poor result (e.g., 'a makeshift bandage from a torn shirt'). 'Improvised' is more neutral — it can describe clever or skilled on-the-spot creation, not necessarily low quality (e.g., 'an improvised jazz melody'). 'Temporary' is the broadest term, covering anything short-term without saying anything about how it was made ('temporary housing'). 'Provisional' is formal and usually applies to plans, agreements, or arrangements ('a provisional government'). 'Rough-and-ready' is informal and can imply something is good enough even if not polished ('a rough-and-ready boat engine fix'). Use 'makeshift' when you want to emphasize the lack of proper materials and the resulting roughness.
Formed in the 16th century from the verb 'make' + the noun 'shift', where 'shift' meant 'an expedient, a way of getting by' (from Old English 'sciftan' meaning 'to arrange, divide'). The original idea was 'something that makes do for now' — a resourceful but temporary solution. The phrase 'make shift' (to manage with difficulty) came first, and by the 1800s 'makeshift' had settled into its modern use as an adjective describing a rough, improvised replacement.