as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
upon learning that it was her birthday, we had an ad hoc celebration right there in the restaurant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ad hoc
In approving the ad hoc committee, several council members referenced a May 9 incident on the Huntington Beach boardwalk, in which a group of teenage bikers assaulted a business owner, according to news reports.
—
Claire Wang, Oc Register, 26 May 2026
Without a coherent federal framework, patients in underserved areas will keep waiting for care that AI could safely deliver, while states cycle through ad hoc deployments and predictable backlash.
—Alon Bergman, STAT, 11 May 2026
Both are ad hoc and incomplete.
—Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
Similar cases include 3M’s accidental invention of Post-it Notes (first used as ad hoc bookmarks for hymnals); Shopify’s pivot from selling snowboards to enabling e-commerce infrastructure; and Instagram’s shift from a cluttered check-in app to a focused photo-sharing platform.
—Kumar Rakesh Ranjan, The Conversation, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ad hoc
Claire Wang, Oc Register, 26 May 2026
Without a coherent federal framework, patients in underserved areas will keep waiting for care that AI could safely deliver, while states cycle through ad hoc deployments and predictable backlash.
—Alon Bergman, STAT, 11 May 2026
Both are ad hoc and incomplete.
—Evan Johnson, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2026
Similar cases include 3M’s accidental invention of Post-it Notes (first used as ad hoc bookmarks for hymnals); Shopify’s pivot from selling snowboards to enabling e-commerce infrastructure; and Instagram’s shift from a cluttered check-in app to a focused photo-sharing platform.
—Kumar Rakesh Ranjan, The Conversation, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ad hoc
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ad hoc
Adjective
-
The Giants first hosted Beckham for a workout April 20, after weeks of public flirting and an impromptu visit by the receiver to chat with Harbaugh at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
-
Near the end of the night, several students reportedly made an impromptu decision to swim in the river near Dartmouth's student docks.—
Corin Cesaric,
PEOPLE,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Yet the idea of an improvised solo as a story to tell, and of the melody as the vehicle for that story, was a constant in his music.—
Don Heckman,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2026
-
Now, those nightly improvised tangents have become one of the production's most beloved elements.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Over two minutes, a spectrum of Black improvisational styles battle on what feels like a Red Planet, interspersed with video game chirps and tectonic-shifting airblasts that cool the magma cooked up during combat, each one building off the other’s energy.—
Tatiana Lee Rodriguez,
Pitchfork,
1 June 2026
-
Shange describes the night as having been both improvisational and in process for years.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ad hoc.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ad%20hoc. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
