Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Carried out or performed with little or no preparation; impromptu.
- adjective Prepared in advance but delivered without notes or text.
- adjective Skilled at or given to unrehearsed speech or performance.
- adjective Provided, made, or adapted as an expedient; makeshift.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In pharmacy, noting a preparation which is compounded at the time it is ordered, in distinction from a ready-made, or officinal preparation.
- Made, done, furnished, or procured at the time, without special preparation; resulting from or provided for the immediate occasion; unpremeditated: as, an extemporaneous address or performance; extemporaneous support or shelter.
- Synonyms Extemporaneous, Unpremeditated. There is now some disposition to apply extempore and extemporaneous to that which is unpremeditated only in form. Extemporaneous speaking or preaching is, by this view, carefully prepared in thought, arrangement, etc., only the choice of words and phraseology being left to the inspiration of the moment. Extemporary has not this sense. Unpremeditated is thus opposed to premeditated, and extemporaneous to written or recited.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment, or without previous study; unpremeditated; off-hand; ad-lib; extempore; extemporary.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective without
preparation oradvanced thought ;offhand
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective with little or no preparation or forethought
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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His former style is what we call extemporaneous, but we do not wish to convey the idea that he spoke without preparation.
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Finding that in extemporaneous speech she could only speak at one time of a few points, she determined to write out the most important part of what she wished to say.
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Pigeons are still more useful in extemporaneous cooking than fowls, as, being smaller, they are sooner cooked.
The Lady's Country Companion: or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally Jane 1845
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A Greek bride, on leaving her father's house, takes leave of her friends and relatives frequently in extemporaneous verse.
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Considering she’s supposed to be an attorney and all who excells in extemporaneous speaking conditions.
Think Progress » Hagel: Military Strike on Iran is ‘Not a Viable, Feasible, Responsible Option’ 2006
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It has indeed been maintained, even in recent times, and by ministers of the National Church, that "the idea of extemporaneous prayer as an appropriate vehicle of public devotion was one quite unknown to the Reformation."
The Scottish Reformation Its Epochs, Episodes, Leaders, and Distinctive Characteristics Alexander F. Mitchell
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The man was most conscientious and had a beautiful contempt for the so-called extemporaneous speaker.
Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Reformers Hubbard, Elbert, 1856-1915 1916
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The man was most conscientious and had a beautiful contempt for the so-called extemporaneous speaker.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 09 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Reformers Elbert Hubbard 1885
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Elvira must have been what may be called extemporaneous acting.
Records of a Girlhood Fanny Kemble 1851
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Spontaneity, innovation, the kind of extemporaneous flourish that Springsteen, Bono, or Chris Martin have mastered, and that grants those idols access to a stratosphere the Killers are yet to pierce.
Rob Fishman: Human or Dancer: Killers Waver at Jones Beach 2009
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