[
US
/ˈædˈɫɪb/
]
ADJECTIVE
-
with little or no preparation or forethought
his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment
offhand excuses
an extemporary lecture
an extempore skit
a few unrehearsed comments
trying to sound offhanded and reassuring
an off-the-cuff toast
an extemporaneous piano recital
an impromptu speech -
said or done without having been planned or written in advance
he made a few ad-lib remarks
VERB
-
perform without preparation
he extemporized a speech at the wedding
NOUN
-
remark made spontaneously without prior preparation
his ad-libs got him in trouble with the politicians
How To Use ad-lib In A Sentence
- With a stage presence as big as her amazing costumes, her ad-libs and one-liners had the audience in raptures.
- It wasn't his report ‘ad-libbed to a small, somnolent audience at 6.07’ that did the damage.
- We relied on a DAT tape for the beats as Will and Apl threw down the lyrics and I followed their lead, ad-libbing on the back of them. Fallin’ Up
- Kidder follows up with an ad-lib joke: ‘I'll have what she's having.’
- The newsreader said ‘We'll be back for more of what appears to be an ad-lib speech from Mark Oaten’.
- If one goes by the findings of behavioural studies, one would think twice before assigning baby-sitting functions for the telly or hold back from going ga ga over the toddler who lisps ad-lib.
- He ad-libbed in many of his films and was just as quick in person. Globe and Mail
- Owen Wilson has a smarmy-cool, utterly natural screen persona of smiles, cheeky ad-libs and ironically understated wisecracks.
- Howie didn't have an act but he got up there, almost on a dare, and ad-libbed what turned out to be the funniest set of the evening.
- The programme is unusually reliant on ad-libbed two-ways. Times, Sunday Times
