Synonyms for impromptu
- adjective
- adverb
- verb
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Extemporaneous — improvised; without prior preparation, planning, or rehearsal
extemporaneous, off-hand, off-the-cuff, improvised, ad-lib, unrehearsed, unplanned, improvisational, casual, improvisatory, extempore, unprepared, off-handed, unstudied, extemporary, unpremeditated, improviso dated
Adverb
1. Spontaneously
Other
Verb
Definitions
- adj. 1
Improvised; without prior preparation, planning, or rehearsal.
The party began with an impromptu rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
- adv. 1
Extemporaneously; without prior preparation, planning, or rehearsal.
- v. 1
To compose offhand.
Forms
- Past participle
- impromptued
e.g. impromptued → improvised, extemporized…
Choose the right word
Unpremeditated is graver and more formal, denoting absolute want of preparation, but is rather too heavy a word to be applied to such apt, ready utterance as is generally designated by impromptu.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- improvised Children can make dangerous improvised weapons.
- extemporaneous The contestant delivered her extemporaneous speech with such gusto.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| impromptu | rising | |
| improvised | rising | |
| extemporaneous | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- cold1
- 6 letters
- casual3
- 9 letters
- unplanned2, improvise3, extempore, unstudied, improviso
- 10 letters
- improvised3, unprepared3
- 11 letters
- unrehearsed3, extemporize, extemporary, extemporise
- 13 letters
- spontaneously5, improvisatory
- 14 letters
- extemporaneous, unpremeditated
- 15 letters
- improvisational6
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (casual3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- impromptu
- Italiano
- improvvisato
- Deutsch
- improvisiert