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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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
The Trump that appeared in the East Room of the White House to honor the singers was not the same figure who likes to crack jokes and extemporize freely when rubbing shoulders with superstars.
—Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, 15 Jan. 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
And they are exacerbated by Mr. Trump’s tendency to extemporize and the North Koreans’ long track record of duplicitous negotiation.
—Jonathan Cheng, WSJ, 9 Mar. 2018
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
The Trump that appeared in the East Room of the White House to honor the singers was not the same figure who likes to crack jokes and extemporize freely when rubbing shoulders with superstars.
—Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, 15 Jan. 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
And they are exacerbated by Mr. Trump’s tendency to extemporize and the North Koreans’ long track record of duplicitous negotiation.
—Jonathan Cheng, WSJ, 9 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extemporize
Verb
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During the auditions, wannabe actors are asked to improvise scenes including being a cat, being trapped in a room, and being propositioned by a famous director.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
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Singing this material with players who improvise — solos changing, every version being a little different — taught me about that urgent live-ensemble space where everyone’s living and dying by the next player onstage.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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No matter when or how many times the Eagles run the tush push at Lambeau Field, the Packers must devise a way to do what at times seems impossible because of one, how good the Eagles are at it, and two, how the play is officiated.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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The project is part of NASA’s SIMPLEx, or Small, Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration, program, which aims to spur researchers and companies to devise ways to use small spacecraft to carry out science investigations for pennies on the dollar.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Bedecking the old fish-out-of-water story formula in holiday garb and tinseling it with some apt moral messages for this dysfunctional age, screenwriters Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick have concocted a satisfyingly new-fangled Christmas yarn.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
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The menu at Otaleg is constantly evolving, as Radicioni experiments with new combinations in his gelato laboratory, often concocting head-turning flavors based on his favorite savory dishes.—
Nina Ruggiero,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporize. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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