Link Centre Dictionary

extemporize

ex·tem·po·rize

uncommon

verb

1.

manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand

  • “after the hurricane destroyed our house, we had to improvise for weeks”
Synonyms
2.

perform without preparation

  • “he extemporized a speech at the wedding”

Origin

From extempore + -ize.

Phrases

  • off the cuff
  • off the top of one's head
  • play it by ear

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.