as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
not bad for an ad-lib comedy routine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in improvisation
something that is performed, made, or done without preparation
you would never suspect that that stirring speech was an ad-lib
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to improvise
to perform, make, or do without preparation
had to ad-lib constructing a piñata because she'd never actually seen it being done
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ad-lib
Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Mar. 2023
Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
Between the ad-libs to start the cut and rapping over drill 808s mixed with Jersey club, Cardi appears to be taking a page out of the Ice Spice playbook.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2025
Hynes’s grateful curatorial instincts (emboldened by appearances from everyone from Daniel Caesar to an ad-lib-lilting Zadie Smith) only further the contemplative-exuberance aesthetic, making Essex Honey his most quietly explosive album.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Being able to ad-lib was such a steep learning curve for me.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 6 Apr. 2025
During their jam session with Bad Bunny, the group was able to ad-lib an element unique to their hometown: the tale of Jacinto, a farmer who is dragged by his cow into a ocean blowhole, famously known as Jacinto’s pit cave.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
First of all, Megan gets to ad-lib every night and comes up with really funny lines every single night.
—Juan A. Ramírez, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2024
But little did Pearson know, Key would one-up these references with an ad-lib.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Oct. 2024
According to Patton Oswalt, the cast would ad-lib jokes for Reynolds to say to Blade in Snipes’s absence.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
Adjective
At the same time, more ad-lib moments are often expected onstage, bound to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
—Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Mar. 2023
Verb
Urban often ad-libs comments when performing the song live.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 2 Oct. 2025
Between the ad-libs to start the cut and rapping over drill 808s mixed with Jersey club, Cardi appears to be taking a page out of the Ice Spice playbook.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2025
Hynes’s grateful curatorial instincts (emboldened by appearances from everyone from Daniel Caesar to an ad-lib-lilting Zadie Smith) only further the contemplative-exuberance aesthetic, making Essex Honey his most quietly explosive album.
—Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Being able to ad-lib was such a steep learning curve for me.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 6 Apr. 2025
During their jam session with Bad Bunny, the group was able to ad-lib an element unique to their hometown: the tale of Jacinto, a farmer who is dragged by his cow into a ocean blowhole, famously known as Jacinto’s pit cave.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
First of all, Megan gets to ad-lib every night and comes up with really funny lines every single night.
—Juan A. Ramírez, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2024
But little did Pearson know, Key would one-up these references with an ad-lib.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Oct. 2024
According to Patton Oswalt, the cast would ad-lib jokes for Reynolds to say to Blade in Snipes’s absence.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ad-lib
Adjective
-
And then, after that, Edgecombe goes through another impromptu workout with development guru and Sixers assistant Rico Hines.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Between Kim Kardashian’s new power pixie and Kris Jenner’s impromptu platinum bleach job, there seems to be a Freaky Friday situation going down at the KarJenners’ this week.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Blending fiction, improvisation, and documentary-style shooting on the streets of Madrid, the film delves into the quiet intimacy of daily life, revealing how fragility, solitude and humor coexist in those attempting to rebuild themselves far from home.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
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The Zoolander star and Severance boss explores how Jerry Stiller and Meara as a comedy powerhouse duo managed to raise a showbiz family as the lines between their creativity and improvisation on stage and at home constantly blurred.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That was completely improvised.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
10 Oct. 2025
-
However, only speed, adaptability, and the will to improvise under fire will decide whether Taiwan can survive the dragon’s return.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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While most of the multiplayer modes are different flavors of the same idea, there’s a perpetually improvisational element that makes Battlefield 6 shine where other shooters falter.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Songs were influenced by improvisational and bebop jazz, as well as gospel.—
Jenny Adams,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The most visible plans are those devised by the same international custodians who have engineered postwar order elsewhere in the Middle East.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
-
To that end, the Charlotte Symphony commissioned Grammy-winning composer Mason Bates to devise a brief musical signature called a sonic logo for the orchestra.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Deep shots, screens, improvised plays, even a flea-flicker touchdown to Luther Burden III.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
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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
Verb
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One of the smartest things the subgroup of three commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick did in concocting a 12-team CFP format was to grant automatic playoff berths to the top six conference champions (later five after the Pac-12’s collapse).—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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Maybe the purposefully ambiguous coda was concocted to prove some sort of Rashomon-style truth-is-subjective point.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The future, instead, seems to belong to the teams and coaches who are willing to be a little more flexible and see their role as providing a platform on which their players might extemporize.—
Rory Smith,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2023
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Friends said he was talented and could extemporize about anything.—
Jacques Kelly,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Ad-lib.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ad-lib. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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