as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
caught by surprise, I had to make an extemporaneous speech at the awards banquet
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Recent Examples of extemporaneous
The winners of Monday’s, Tuesday’s, and Wednesday’s shows went on to compete Thursday for bestest extemporaneous cultural critic.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
And Jonathan said, as [he’s being choked], was this extemporaneous?
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024
That might explain why the Portland-via-Fort Lauderdale post-hardcore band performs with such extemporaneous vigor on Deep Sage, thrashing and flailing in a release of anger that trades blind rage for determined revenge.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
If extemporaneous speaking is challenging, consider an improv class.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for extemporaneous
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025
And Jonathan said, as [he’s being choked], was this extemporaneous?
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024
That might explain why the Portland-via-Fort Lauderdale post-hardcore band performs with such extemporaneous vigor on Deep Sage, thrashing and flailing in a release of anger that trades blind rage for determined revenge.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2024
If extemporaneous speaking is challenging, consider an improv class.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for extemporaneous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extemporaneous
Adjective
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All students must complete an impromptu essay, which involves reading a short text and responding to a question about it within a two-hour time limit.—
Rory Linnane,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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In public, Mark Kerr speaks amiably about his trainer turned rival and even takes him along for a rowdy impromptu meet-and-greet, but the lack of friction comes off less as a sign of his unflappability than of Safdie’s indifference to probing a friendship beyond buddy-comedy depth.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The film, shot in the sort of seemingly improvisational, realistic style championed by John Cassavetes, may be too raw for mainstream consumption, but deservingly snagged the festival’s award for Best First Feature.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
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By comparison, campaign two felt more scattered and improvisational (befitting a D&D game).—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Two months later, the group launched more than two dozen attacks across northeastern Syria, relying on a combination of guerrilla tactics, including small arms fire, ambushes, assassinations, and improvised explosive devices targeting military checkpoints and government vehicles.—
Caroline Rose,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Sep. 2025
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The researchers believe this error was not from its knowledge base but was an improvised guess based on their prior conversation about the square’s diagonal.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extemporaneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporaneous. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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