as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
not bad for an ad-lib comedy routine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in improvisation
something that is performed, made, or done without preparation
you would never suspect that that stirring speech was an ad-lib
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to improvise
to perform, make, or do without preparation
had to ad-lib constructing a piñata because she'd never actually seen it being done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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 ad-lib
Devan Coggan, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2023
At the same time, more ad-lib moments are often expected onstage, bound to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
—Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Mar. 2023
Kimmel had to ad-lib when introducing the editing award.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 13 Mar. 2023
Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
But little did Pearson know, Key would one-up these references with an ad-lib.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Oct. 2024
McCall’s ad-lib joke about beetles (as in the insect) got them the biggest laugh.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2024
Once, the teleprompter unexpectedly rebooted toward the end of a speech, forcing Biden to ad-lib while his speechwriter at the time, Dylan Loewe, frantically retyped the ending in real time.
—Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, 4 July 2024
Hand over a prepared text to lawmakers, then ad-lib.
—George Skelton, The Mercury News, 29 June 2024
After Carpenter sang her cheeky ad-lib lyrics, which included a reference to the famous indoor waterfall inside Singapore's Jewel Changi shopping mall, Keoghan smiled and immediately raised his hands above his head in applause.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024
The theater erupted in laughter, but Stewart encouraged him to keep talking about his process after the ad-lib.
—Variety, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024
No, that's not an ad-lib auto-populated by a word cloud compilation of my secret Pinterest boards circa 2014.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 18 Jan. 2024
Adjective
He's given me a lot of leeway and a lot of leash to go improv and ad-lib and create the character, which is always really fun.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 18 Mar. 2023
At the same time, more ad-lib moments are often expected onstage, bound to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
—Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Mar. 2023
Kimmel had to ad-lib when introducing the editing award.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 13 Mar. 2023
Verb
According to Patton Oswalt, the cast would ad-lib jokes for Reynolds to say to Blade in Snipes’s absence.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
But little did Pearson know, Key would one-up these references with an ad-lib.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Oct. 2024
McCall’s ad-lib joke about beetles (as in the insect) got them the biggest laugh.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2024
Once, the teleprompter unexpectedly rebooted toward the end of a speech, forcing Biden to ad-lib while his speechwriter at the time, Dylan Loewe, frantically retyped the ending in real time.
—Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, 4 July 2024
Hand over a prepared text to lawmakers, then ad-lib.
—George Skelton, The Mercury News, 29 June 2024
After Carpenter sang her cheeky ad-lib lyrics, which included a reference to the famous indoor waterfall inside Singapore's Jewel Changi shopping mall, Keoghan smiled and immediately raised his hands above his head in applause.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024
The theater erupted in laughter, but Stewart encouraged him to keep talking about his process after the ad-lib.
—Variety, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024
No, that's not an ad-lib auto-populated by a word cloud compilation of my secret Pinterest boards circa 2014.
—Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 18 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ad-lib
Adjective
-
In fact, Jones even used his own birthday party to arrange an impromptu audition for Smith in front of then-NBC-head Brandon Tartikoff.Christian Holub, EW.com, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Quincy Jones was asking me to do an impromptu audition in front of some of the biggest icons, present and past, in all of entertainment, not to mention the top brass at the National Broadcasting Company, home to The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Golden Girls, L.A. Law, and Seinfeld.DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
The search for solutions led him to Peyton Watson at the five, an act of positional improvisation that somehow worked against Miami.Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 11 Nov. 2024
-
The mood was one of happy improvisation, a sort of aristocratic Fawlty Towers art-directed by Slim Aarons.Nick Foulkes, theweek, 7 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Many look-alikes will simply turn up and look like their doppelgänger, but Oliver embodies Brent for hours and hours, quoting beloved routines from The Office and improvising in character himself.Ralph Jones, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Sometimes, the pianist is front and center, improvising with energy and creativity, while the drummer and bassist lay back, providing the foundation.Brian Bartes, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
The trio devised rudimentary games involving images and text questions.Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Nov. 2024
-
Many cable-news mainstays are devising new programming concepts that move away from the industry standard of single-host opinion programs.Brian Steinberg, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Emilia eventually concocts a risky scheme to reunite with her family under the guise of a relative.Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 1 Nov. 2024
-
Hyman and his team also concocted a devilish backstory for Tony to explain some of his ostentatious wealth.Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Rohan Nadkarni Lamar Jackson rolled out right on 1st-and-goal, faked a run and then found Nelson Agholor wide open in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown catch.NBC News, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
-
There is a theory — deriving from the QAnon movement, apparently — that goes like this: President Obama and Vice President Biden conspired with Iran to fake the death of Osama bin Laden.Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 5 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near ad-lib
Cite this Entry
“Ad-lib.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ad-lib. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share