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
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
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
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To get to play and improvise with one of the greats was a special thing.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
21 Mar. 2025
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The lively Cuban jam-style tune invites musicians to improvise lyrics, a homegrown tradition from the city of Santiago, the center of Cuban son music.—
Orlando Matos,
NBC News,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Before the Frazier and Foreman fight was devised, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was stripped of the title.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 Mar. 2025
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Then again, maybe the first ASI wants to have ASI pals and therefore devises additional ASIs accordingly.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But White Sox concessions partner Levy Restaurants has concocted a new milkshake — the Celebration Cake Shake.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
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Born less than three months apart to devout religious families in the industrial Midwest, Prince and Jackson probably had a lot to talk about when they weren’t holed up in their Xanadu-like mansions concocting their unique blends of soul-funk-disco alchemy.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
15 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extemporize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extemporize. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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