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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 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 Each presenter now has the freedom to extemporize on the warning — a nonnegotiable requirement of the program’s opening — but not by much. Rory Smith, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extemporize
Verb
  • After giving the actor permission to improvise, the fake exec criticizes Fielder's technique.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • The Bottom Line What began as a global crisis forced companies to improvise, but the best ones evolved far beyond the triage.
    Jon Stojan, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The authors devised a set of experiments to scientifically investigate the phase behavior of water, starch, and cheese mixed together in various concentrations and at different temperatures.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Sergio Mercado Design For a project in Palm Beach, Florida, Sergio Mercado Design devised a minimalist space, allowing for the colorful artwork to take center stage.
    Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Epitomizing what seems an unsustainable recent trend, a second straight 2-0 win over Houston was concocted by way of their third sacrifice fly in two days and a Vinnie Pasquantino home run among their grand total of three hits.
    Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 27 Apr. 2025
  • The Penzance Musical, an exquisitely funny, meticulously concocted theatrical pavlova—the 1879 operetta The Pirates of Penzance by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan—has been whacked with a mallet.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Extemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporize. Accessed 4 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!