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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of ad-lib
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
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
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
The ad-lib dramatically changed the scene from how Trier and Vogt had written it.
—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Puzzled, Aggie climbs the stairs and — as Nile continues to ad-lib — finds Teddy, dead, suffocated with a bag, in Cooper’s room, which is decked out to match the live feed.
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
14 Nov. 2025
Recently, Chance The Rapper told DJ Bootleg Kev about Mac playing a vital role in one of his most famous ad-libs, noting that the moment occurred during an LA recording session with Chuck Inglish.
—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
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
Being able to ad-lib was such a steep learning curve for me.
—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
Larkin doesn’t ad-lib too much.
—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
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
They were encouraged to ad-lib in character as Guest collected more than 60 hours of footage before taking a year to whittle it down to 84 minutes.
—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
The ad-lib dramatically changed the scene from how Trier and Vogt had written it.
—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
5 Jan. 2026
Puzzled, Aggie climbs the stairs and — as Nile continues to ad-lib — finds Teddy, dead, suffocated with a bag, in Cooper’s room, which is decked out to match the live feed.
—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
14 Nov. 2025
Recently, Chance The Rapper told DJ Bootleg Kev about Mac playing a vital role in one of his most famous ad-libs, noting that the moment occurred during an LA recording session with Chuck Inglish.
—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
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
Being able to ad-lib was such a steep learning curve for me.
—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
6 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ad-lib
Adjective
-
Videos of every speech, impromptu press conference and gaff circulate on social media.
-
The impromptu match, published on X June 20, formed part of NASA's push to explain how space relates to soccer.
Noun
-
Both required enormous amounts of selflessness, stamina, plasticity, courage, and improvisation.
-
Journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan tell the story of a president who fought his way back from 2021 political exile to the White House — and then allowed overconfidence, improvisation, and impulse to hobble his second presidency.
Verb
-
Alex Zhang Hungtai collages a bewildering array of acoustic, electric, ancient, and modern sounds on this noirish double album, improvised and composed over several years with an ad-hoc coterie that includes string and woodwind players, a noise musician, a Korean gong resonator, and a tap dancer.
-
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure, who attended the dinner, described the signing as largely improvised.
Adjective
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At the same time, Wilde wanted an improvisational rehearsal process in which the actors could discover and breathe life into the characters.
-
The wild card is Chicago alto saxophonist Lenard Simpson, a prodigious young player known for his impassioned improvisational flights.
Verb
-
One of the easiest ways for an AI maker to guide an LLM in mental health chats is to use a system-wide prompt devised by the AI maker.
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National momentum for school screen Time limits LAUSD’s action to devise new limits in April spurred interest in the issue across the nation, said Jodi Carreon, who co-runs the California chapter of the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project, a leader in the movement.
Adjective
-
Víg had no prior experience composing for film, and the project – which relied heavily on documentary aesthetics and improvised performance – made for a steep learning curve.
-
Intersections became improvised plazas, clotted with bodies.
Verb
-
Simple, sleek, and sophisticated, this one-shoulder jumpsuit is the easiest way to concoct a chic yet comfortable outfit.
-
In the one that opens the film, Forky (Tony Hale), the googly-eyed spork, marries a plastic knife called Karen Beverly (Melissa Villaseñor), a name so perfectly unmelodious that only a kid, or an adult exceptionally good at thinking like one, could have concocted it.
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.
-
Friends said he was talented and could extemporize about anything.
Cite this Entry
“Ad-lib.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ad-lib. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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