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Impromptu most often describes things, such as speeches or gatherings, that are not prepared ahead of time but that instead happen spontaneously. An impromptu concert or photoshoot, for example, is conceived and executed in the moment. Impromptu was borrowed—spelling, meaning, and all—from French in the mid-18th century. The French had gotten the word from Latin, from the phrase in promptu, meaning “in readiness.” But the presence of prompt in there is no coincidence: both impromptu and prompt are ultimately derived from the Latin promere, meaning “to bring forth, take out.”
Examples of impromptu in a Sentence
Corin Cesaric, People.com, 18 May 2025
Laxe revels in the beauty and imposing scale of the Sahara desert (where Sirat was filmed) with scenes of the cars rolling up steep mountains or getting lost in impromptu sand storms.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2025
During an impromptu meeting that day at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican, Zelensky told Trump that Putin would only understand the language of force.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 15 May 2025
With managers feeling the pinch in the job market, and in the job, there is a better way to handle unproductive and impromptu meetings - especially for employees who are just finishing their onboarding.
—Chris Westfall, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impromptu
Cite this Entry
“Impromptu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impromptu. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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