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
  • Both bands share a genre-bending approach, improvising to create performances that — in theory, at least — are singular.
    Jennifer Day, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Often unfurling over the course of entire afternoons and evenings, González’s knotty, hypnotic works typically test the expectations (and patience) of viewers, who are left to figure out what’s improvised and what isn’t.
    Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • David Lowery One of America’s most original directors returned this year with this underrated movie following an aging pop diva (Anne Hathaway) who reunites with her former costume designer (Michaela Coel) to devise a look for her comeback.
    Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2026
  • But state and local planners devised a way to answer commuter’s growing concerns by converting Independence into a freeway.
    DJ Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • In it, Bugliosi lays out the prosecutorial theory — one concocted to put away a man for murder who didn’t actually commit the crimes — that Manson was trying to jump-start a race war, called Helter Skelter.
    Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The removal of Maelor, however, snowballed into this moment where that character’s absence didn’t allow for that horrific book moment to be realized, so another set of reasons was concocted.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Extemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporize. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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