AD-LIBBING Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

ad-libbing

verb

present participle of ad-lib

as in improvising

to perform, make, or do without preparation had to ad-lib constructing a piñata because she'd never actually seen it being done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ad-libbing

Verb

Guo Degang was accused of violating public morals for improvising the lyrics to a communist party song.

— Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
Both bands share a genre-bending approach, improvising to create performances that — in theory, at least — are singular.

— Jennifer Day, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of improvising

Verb

Sarah Sherman Samuel is known for devising furniture worthy of an art show, and the Lulu and Georgia Hamilton sideboard is no exception.

— Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 24 July 2026
Ten years on, after devising the victorious Trojan Horse gambit, Ulysses attempts to return to Ithaca and the pining Penelope, whose palace has been overrun with scheming suitors seeking her hand.

— Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2026

Definition of devising

Verb

Ghost also accused Wilson and her PR team of concocting a smear campaign against her.

— Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026
And she’s spent a decade scaling her brand into an industry disrupter; Ellsworth began concocting prebiotic drinks in 2015, founding her business just one year later.

— Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 11 May 2026

Definition of concocting

Verb

The prosecution, led by Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham, alleges that Clancy planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt.

— Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
This aims to make faking qualifications harder, addressing a critical hiring infrastructure problem.

— Kara Dennison, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of faking

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.

Browse Nearby Words

ad-libbed

ad-libbing

ad-libs

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ad-libbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ad-libbing. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ad-libbing

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

prowess

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes