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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He was joined on stage by his wife, Alexis Roderick, and introduced two young daughters, Della and Remy, who improvised dance routines throughout the crowd-rousing 12-minute cameo.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
3 Jan. 2026
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Linklater used Dazed and Confused to continue developing his signature style — as seen in his first feature, Slacker (1990) — for making naturalistic movies crammed with contemporary dialogue, some of which was improvised by his cast.—
Lia Beck,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Last summer, researchers devised a method to translate internal representations of sentences from one language model to another.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Jan. 2026
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Of all the schemes that humans have devised to keep sea lions from gorging on the salmon of the Columbia River basin, none has worked for long.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Joseph’s schemes and ability to concoct defensive chemistry are major reasons Denver (14-3) earned the AFC’s top seed, a first-round bye, and a date with the Bills in the divisional playoffs on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
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Let natural greenery rule in tall vases, design a whole table setting on a new color, or concoct a signature drink that matches the theme in color and flavor.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporize. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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