Meaning & use
extemporizing
Last updated
Speaking, performing, or composing something without preparation, making it up on the spot.
See it in a sentence
When his notes went missing, the professor had no choice but to start extemporizing.
The jazz musician spent much of the set extemporizing over the chord changes.
A note on using this word
Extemporizing comes from Latin ex tempore, meaning 'out of the moment,' the same root behind the phrase 'off the cuff.'
Words with a similar meaning
improvisingad-libbing
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
scriptingrehearsing
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