extemporize

American  

[ik-stem-puh-rahyz] / ɪkˈstɛm pəˌraɪz /

especially British, extemporise

verb (used without object)

extemporized, extemporizing

1. to speak extemporaneously.

   He can extemporize on any of a number of subjects.

2. to sing, or play on an instrument, composing the music as one proceeds; improvise.

3. to do or manage something in a makeshift way.

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verb (used with object)

extemporized, extemporizing

1. to make or devise extempore.

2. Music. to compose offhand; improvise.

extemporize British  

/ ɪkˈstɛmpəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to perform, speak, or compose (an act, speech, piece of music, etc) without planning or preparation

2. to use (a temporary solution) for an immediate need; improvise

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Other Word Forms

• extemporization
  noun
• extemporizer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of extemporize

First recorded in 1635–45; extempore + -ize

Explanation

To extemporize is to improvise, especially without preparation. When you extemporize, you’re making it up as you go along. In some situations, you’re prepared and know exactly what you’re going to do. In others, you have to extemporize. A stand-up comedian who makes up jokes on the spot is extemporizing. If a football play breaks down, the quarterback has to scramble and extemporize by coming up with a new play. A public speaker who throws away notes and takes questions is extemporizing. Jazz musicians often extemporize. When you extemporize, even you’re not sure what you might end up doing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

extemporize extemporized extemporizing

Sensing an opportunity to extemporize, he looked around the chamber, pleased.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2023

People who loved it connected to its weirdness; art nerds who favor turtlenecks and superfluous scarves could extemporize about the various scenes and passages inspired by masterworks of the renaissance.

From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2020

It taught children to debate, extemporize, and advocate for themselves, and it helped them develop the vocabulary that tends to reap academic rewards.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 5, 2015

But he returned to the microphone to extemporize on the technological trappings before him.

From New York Times ● May 5, 2011

The old man turned back to his wagon and began to extemporize.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

At the finale's close, after Alex has haltingly extemporized about whether she deserves all the terrible things that have happened to her and mulls the possibility of life after death, she shrugs.

From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2021

Whether that feat was intentional or extemporized — Bergreen appears to lean toward the first — it was no fluke.

From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2021

They extemporized about immigration, opioid addiction, prison reform, domestic violence, universal health care, mental illness and gun violence.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 1, 2019

And his extemporized speech bore this out, mentioning John Cage, Cecil Taylor, John Philip Sousa and Native American ritual music.

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2014

Midnight strikes, but there is no sign that the play is near its end, or that the audience dreams of moving from the uncomfortable seats that each one has extemporized for himself.

From Sidelights on Chinese Life by Macgowan, J. (John)

I was not a quippy teenager with a sarcastic response to everything that happened in my life,” Ms. Heller explained, once again extemporizing on the typically wide gap between film and reality teens.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 13, 2015

A melodic shape emerged, and bass and drums hit a single, sudden downbeat — thump! — as Mr. Glasper kept extemporizing with chromatic flair.

From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2015

Then Perelman began extemporizing: You can replace some of the oil and sugar with mashed banana, and the milk or yogurt with fruit juice.

From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2013

But he sounded marvelously in his element, extemporizing with controlled bluster and blending ecstatically with the other two horns.

From New York Times ● Feb. 19, 2010

She was only extemporizing but a stirring warmth flowed from her as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald