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extemporaneous

 - 3 dictionary results

ex⋅tem⋅po⋅ra⋅ne⋅ous

  [ik-stem-puh-rey-nee-uhs]
Use extemporaneous in a Sentence
–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.
3. speaking or performing with little or no advance preparation: extemporaneous actors.
4. made for the occasion, as a shelter.
Origin:
1650–60; < LL extemporāneus on the spur of the moment. See extempore, -an, -eous

Related forms:
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] , noun

Synonyms:
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. 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.

Antonyms:
1. memorized.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To extemporaneous
ex·tem·po·ra·ne·ous   (ĭk-stěm'pə-rā'nē-əs)   
adj.  

  1. Carried out or performed with little or no preparation; impromptu: an extemporaneous piano recital.

  2. Prepared in advance but delivered without notes or text: an extemporaneous speech.

  3. Skilled at or given to unrehearsed speech or performance: an accomplished extemporaneous speaker.

  4. Provided, made, or adapted as an expedient; makeshift: an extemporaneous policy decision.


[From Late Latin extemporāneus, from Latin ex tempore; see extempore.]
ex·tem'po·ra·ne'i·ty (-pər-ə-nē'ĭ-tē) n., ex·tem'po·ra'ne·ous·ly adv., ex·tem'po·ra'ne·ous·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean spoken, performed, done, or composed with little or no preparation or forethought. Extemporaneous, extemporary, and extempore most often apply to discourse that is delivered without the assistance of a written text, though it may have been planned in advance: an extemporaneous address; an extemporary lecture; an extempore skit.
Impromptu even more strongly suggests happening on the spur of the moment: an impromptu dinner.
Offhand implies not only spontaneity but also a casual or even cavalier manner: an offhand remark.
What is unrehearsed is said or done without rehearsal or practice though not necessarily without forethought: a few unrehearsed comments.
Unpremeditated implies impulsiveness prompted by strong feeling: asked an unpremeditated question.
Something that is ad-lib is spontaneous and improvised and therefore not part of a prepared script or score: an ad-lib joke.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

extemporaneous 
1656 (earlier extemporal, 1570), from L.L. extemporaneus, from L. ex tempore "offhand, in accordance with (the needs of) the moment," from ex- "out of" + tempore, abl. of tempus (gen. temporis) "time." The L. form extempore had been in use in Eng. since c.1553.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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