What does extemporising mean?
Extemporising means doing or producing something without advance preparation, usually by responding to circumstances as they unfold. It is commonly used for speaking without a prepared script, improvising music without a written score, or creating a performance in which the plan is deliberately left open. The word can carry a positive sense of creativity, confidence, and adaptability, especially when it describes an experienced performer; in other contexts it may suggest that insufficient time was given to preparation. The present-participle and gerund form is especially frequent in British English, while US spelling usually uses extemporizing. The word is useful because it distinguishes spontaneous performance from both a carefully rehearsed presentation and simply careless or disorganized behaviour. It appears whenever there is a demand to think, speak, create, or perform in the moment, whether in a concert, an interview, a classroom, or an emergency.
verb (present participle/gerund)To speak, write, act, or perform music without prior preparation, improvising as one goes. It can describe spontaneous performance or the act of producing something on the spur of the moment.
- Speaking, writing, or acting without advance preparation, making suitable words or actions as the situation develops.
- Creating or performing music spontaneously without a written score or prior rehearsal.
"The pianist began extemporising when the sheet music ran out."
"The pianist began extemporising when the sheet music ran out."
"She was extemporising a response to the question, choosing her words carefully as she spoke."
Sometimes the most convincing performance is the one nobody had time to rehearse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does extemporising come from?
The English word is based on Latin ex tempore, literally "from the time" and idiomatically "on the spot" or "at the time." The expression was adapted into English as a verb meaning to speak or perform without preparation, and later developed into related forms such as extemporaneous and extemporaneity. More distant English cognates include temporary and contemporary, which preserve the Latin root associated with time.
Related word forms
How extemporising is actually used
The word can be approving, suggesting fluency and creative skill, or mildly disapproving, suggesting that proper preparation was skipped. It is especially associated with speech and music, and the -ising spelling is standard in British usage.
Easily confused with extemporising
Extemporising is the verb describing the act of improvising without preparation, whereas extemporaneous is an adjective describing something done without preparation.