EXTEMPORIZE Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

extemporize

verb

ik-ˈstem-pə-ˌrīz

Definition of extemporize

as in to improvise

to perform, make, or do without preparation a good talk show host has to be able to extemporize the interviews when things don't go as planned

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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 extemporize 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 Feel free to extemporize, enthuse and connect with people, rather than overwork the data. — Palena Neale, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2021 In public appearances, Emanuel likes to extemporize, cajole, and find a connection. — Connie Bruck, The New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2021 That meant players were able to extemporize, to take chances without being accused of departing too far from the team playbook. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for extemporize

Verb

So along Dandora’s drainage channels and on the edges of busy roads, children improvise.

— Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2026
Caught unprepared for chemical warfare and lacking standard-issue gas masks, Allied soldiers improvised by covering their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs or pieces of cloth drenched in water or urine.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of improvise

Verb

So in classic spy fashion, the group devised secret codes to communicate with one another, hidden in plain sight, so the KGB would be none the wiser — using series of notes embedded in their sheet music.

— Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
Organized crime operations from several cities, including Chicago, New York and Detroit, had established control of casinos up and down the Vegas Strip and devised schemes to skim percentages of the cash under the noses of state regulators.

— Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026