ad-lib
Speak without script
Ad-lib means to improvise, especially in performance—speaking or acting without a script or preparation: The teleprompter failed and she had to ad-lib.
As a noun or adjective, an ad-lib is an improvised remark or action: His best lines were ad-libs.
The term comes from Latin *ad libitum*, meaning "at pleasure."
Speak without preparation
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- off-the-cuffUnplanned, unrehearsed
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- on-the-spotOccurring immediately where needed
improv · freestyle · vamp · riff · spontaneous · unscripted · unprepared · offhand
Work meant to amuse
- standupSolo comedic performance
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- sketchHasty informal drawing
- stageRaised performance platform
actor · comedian · presenter · host · emcee · heckler · audience · timing
Improvised vocal jazz
- soloPerformance by one
- vampAlluring seductress
- riffRepeated musical phrase
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
swing · comping · improvisation · groove · syncopation · lick · noodle · blow
Not artificially produced
- effortlessRequiring no strain
- instinctiveArising without conscious thought
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- candidHonest and direct
genuine · unforced · organic · free-flowing · loose · casual · uninhibited · stream-of-consciousness
extemporize
Speak without preparation
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- off-the-cuffUnplanned, unrehearsed
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
on-the-spot · improv · freestyle · vamp · riff · spontaneous · unscripted · unprepared · offhand · unplanned
comedy
Work meant to amuse
stage · actor · comedian · presenter · host · emcee · heckler · audience · timing · delivery
scat
Improvised vocal jazz
bebop · swing · comping · improvisation · groove · syncopation · lick · noodle · blow · sit-in
natural
Not artificially produced
- effortlessRequiring no strain
- instinctiveArising without conscious thought
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
candid · genuine · unforced · organic · free-flowing · loose · casual · uninhibited · stream-of-consciousness · uncontrived
- Hip-Hoprapper, rappers, rhymes, beat, lyrics
- improvisationimprovised, impromptu, freestyle, improvise, improv
- improvisingriff, riffing, jamming, jam session, freestyle
- performingperform, sing, play, act, dance
- Unscriptedimprovisation, improv, freestyle, spontaneous, off-the-cuff
- witwit, witticism, quip, cleverness, repartee