ad-lib 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of ad-libnext
as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation not bad for an ad-lib comedy routine

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ad-lib

2 of 3

noun

as in improvisation
something that is performed, made, or done without preparation you would never suspect that that stirring speech was an ad-lib

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ad-lib

3 of 3

verb

ˈad-ˈlib How to pronounce ad-lib (audio)
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 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-lib
Adjective
But that moment, that is an ad-lib because the line was [supposed to be] very calm. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026 Larkin doesn’t ad-lib too much. — Michael Russo, New York Times, 24 June 2026
Verb
As seen in a video clip uploaded to the official Oscars YouTube channel, his ad-lib received applause from the audience in the room, but the Academy ultimately excluded the Chicago actor from presenting at the ceremony for several years. — Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 6 Dec. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for ad-lib
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ad-lib
  1. impromptu
  2. improvisation
  3. improvise
  4. improvisational
  5. devise
  6. improvised
  7. concoct
  8. extemporize
Adjective
  • Harley walked into an impromptu interview to become the Huskies interim coach, and less than 48 hours later, NIU announced Hammock’s resignation and Harley’s promotion.
    — Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Segovia, a percussionist, has always filled his home with music – playing impromptu concerts for the neighborhood out of open garage doors or inviting friends and fellow musicians over to jam.
    — Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of impromptu
Noun
  • Reich wanted to build an offense that had room for improvisation, especially for someone like Wilson.
    — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But, just like any live theatrical event, even their best attempts at pre-planning were no match for reality and a lot of improvisation had to be done on the spot.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Variety, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of improvisation
Verb
  • With no margin for error and a cable that could fail at any moment, an unlikely alliance of rescuers must improvise under intense public scrutiny, racing against an invisible clock before disaster strikes live on television.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Duplantis does not recommend simply turning on the camera and improvising.
    — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of improvise
Adjective
  • Fans of the popular comedy podcast were greeted with a generic British woman’s voice stating the episode number today instead of Watts’ improvisational beatboxing riff that served as the show’s intro since 2011.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The interactivity and reliance on improvisational actors limits audience size to around seven people at a time, Lyons said.
    — David Bloom, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of improvisational
Verb
  • To create objects with collapsibility as a core feature, Toyonaga’s team devised an analytic design algorithm allowing incremental construction of complex scissored surfaces.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Then, in a famous 1937 paper, the mathematician Alan Turing devised a model based on hypothetical machines that could read and write symbols printed on an infinite tape according to a set of simple rules.
    — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of devise
Adjective
  • That's enough to loosen steep slopes where some of the 210,000 islanders live off the grid in improvised housing.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Forecasters warn that up to 25 inches of rain and powerful winds could trigger life-threatening flooding, mudslides and even wildfires, especially in remote communities where many residents live off the grid in improvised housing.
    — Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of improvised
Verb
  • Baldoni denied wrongdoing and accused Lively of concocting false allegations as part of an effort to wrest creative control of the film.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But the proposition isn’t simply about concocting an outfit for 18 holes.
    — Mike Dojc, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of concoct
Verb
  • 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
  • Friends said he was talented and could extemporize about anything.
    — Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2023
Definition of extemporize

Browse Nearby Words

adjuvant
ad-lib
ad-libbed
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Cite this Entry

“Ad-lib.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ad-lib. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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