extemporaneous

[ ik-stem-puh-rey-nee-uhs ]
See synonyms for extemporaneous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. done, spoken, performed, etc., without special advance preparation; impromptu: an extemporaneous speech.

  2. previously planned but delivered with the help of few or no notes: extemporaneous lectures.

  1. speaking or performing with little or no advance preparation: extemporaneous actors.

  2. made for the occasion, as a shelter.

Origin of extemporaneous

1
First recorded in 1650–60, from Late Latin extemporāneus “on the spur of the moment”; see extempore, -an, -eous

synonym study For extemporaneous

1, 2. Extemporaneous, extempore, impromptu, improvised are used of expression given without preparation or only partial preparation. Extemporaneous and impromptu may both refer to speeches given without any preparation: an extemporaneous (impromptu) speech. Extemporaneous may also refer to a speech given from notes or an outline: extemporaneous lectures. Although extempore is an adjective with the very same meaning as extemporaneous, this word is most often used in its adverbial senses: She spoke extempore, and had the audience's rapt attention. Impromptu also refers to poems, songs, etc., delivered without preparation and at a moment's notice. Improvised is applied to something composed (recited, sung, acted), at least in part, as one goes along: an improvised piano accompaniment.

Opposites for extemporaneous

Other words from extemporaneous

  • ex·tem·po·ra·ne·ous·ly, adverb
  • ex·tem·po·ra·ne·ous·ness, ex·tem·po·ra·ne·i·ty [ik-stem-puh-ruh-nee-i-tee], /ɪkˌstɛm pə rəˈni ɪ ti/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for extemporaneous

extemporaneous

extemporary (ɪkˈstɛmpərərɪ, -prərɪ)

/ (ɪkˌstɛmpəˈreɪnɪəs) /


adjective
  1. spoken, performed, etc, without planning or preparation; impromptu; extempore

  2. done in a temporary manner; improvised

Derived forms of extemporaneous

  • extemporaneously or extemporarily, adverb
  • extemporaneousness or extemporariness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012