extemporaneous
adjective
W. C. Reckless
Did you know?
Extemporaneous, which comes from the Latin phrase ex tempore ("on the spur of the moment"), joined the English language sometime in the mid-17th century. The word impromptu, also from a Latin phrase (in promptu, meaning "in readiness") soon followed. In general usage, extemporaneous and impromptu are used interchangeably to describe off-the-cuff remarks or speeches, but this is not the case when they are used in reference to the learned art of public speaking. Teachers of speech will tell you that an extemporaneous speech is one that has been thoroughly prepared and planned but not memorized, whereas an impromptu speech is one for which absolutely no preparations have been made.
Synonyms
Examples of extemporaneous in a Sentence
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 4 Sep. 2024
Trump spoke for 1 hour and 32 minutes, the longest acceptance speech in modern American history, reportedly about half of it extemporaneous.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 18 July 2024
And the president’s capacity to lead the executive branch is, by most accounts, far greater than his capacity to speak in coherent, extemporaneous sentences on CNN.
—Vox Staff, Vox, 28 June 2024
The show lovingly conveys all the details of court society: the Noh performance by torchlight, the extemporaneous verse, the calligraphic stroke falling on a blank sheet of paper.
—Ryu Spaeth, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for extemporaneous 
Articles Related to extemporaneous
Dictionary Entries Near extemporaneous
Cite this Entry
“Extemporaneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extemporaneous. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
extemporaneous
adjective
Share