Definition of extemporizenext
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
  • The dialogue was largely improvised based on a loose plot summary posted behind the stage for the performers to refer to.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Ruiz Caldera asked Nielsen to imitate Chiquito, then let the two comedians improvise.
    — Emiliano de Pablos, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • Judge Kaplan gave the city two weeks to devise a plan for handing over the names.
    — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 7 Nov. 2026
  • To avoid such pitfalls, researchers want to devise tests of introspection that can’t be gamed using outside information.
    — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 4 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • So her husband Stephen Ellsworth — Poppi's former CEO, who teased her about never being hydrated — asked a former employee to concoct a hydration beverage that his family would actually drink.
    — Megan Sauer, CNBC, 8 Nov. 2026
  • This is what led American astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin to concoct their Planet Nine hypothesis in 2016.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 6 Nov. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Extemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporize. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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