extemporizing
Making it up
Extemporizing is speaking, performing, or composing something on the spot without preparation or a script.
A politician extemporizing at a press conference is making up answers as they go; a jazz musician extemporizing is improvising a solo.
The word carries connotations of skill—someone who extemporizes well can think on their feet.
She was extemporizing brilliantly when the teleprompter failed.
Without advance preparation
- unscriptedNot pre-written
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- unpreparedLacking readiness beforehand
- unplannedNot arranged beforehand
off-the-cuff · on-the-spot · spur-of-the-moment · ad-hoc · on-the-fly · instinctive · intuitive · natural
Improvisational American music genre
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- freestyleWithout prescribed technique
- jamCooked fruit spread
- riffRepeated musical phrase
cadenza · vamp · busking · soliloquy · monologue · stand-up · sketch · improvisation
Formal public speech
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
- addressSpeak to formally
- sermonClergy's worship address
- homilyReligious discourse on scripture
lecture · presentation · debate · toast · remarks · filibuster · off-the-cuff · ad-lib
impromptu
Without advance preparation
- unscriptedNot pre-written
- unrehearsedNot practiced beforehand
- unpreparedLacking readiness beforehand
unplanned · off-the-cuff · on-the-spot · spur-of-the-moment · ad-hoc · on-the-fly · instinctive · intuitive · natural · unpremeditated
jazz
Improvisational American music genre
riff · cadenza · vamp · busking · soliloquy · monologue · stand-up · sketch · improvisation · comping
oration
Formal public speech
homily · lecture · presentation · debate · toast · remarks · filibuster · off-the-cuff · ad-lib · winging-it
make-do
Manage with less
- improvisePerform without preparation
- adaptModify for new conditions
- jury-rigImprovise temporary repair
MacGyver · workaround · bricolage · makeshift · stopgap · kludge · hack · problem-solving · ingenuity · inventiveness
- improvisingad-lib, ad-libbing, riff, riffing, jamming
extemporizingscripting
Writing executable commands
rehearsing · preparing · reciting · memorizing · practicing
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