[syn: ad lib, ad libitum, spontaneously, impromptu]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Impromptu \Im*promp"tu\, adv. or a. [F. impromptu, fr. L. in
promptu in readiness, at hand; in in + promptus visibility,
readiness, from promptus visible, ready. See Prompt.]
Offhand; without previous study; extemporaneous; extempore;
as, an impromptu verse.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Impromptu \Im*promp"tu\, n.
1. Something made or done offhand, at the moment, or without
previous study; an extemporaneous composition, address, or
remark.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Mus.) A piece composed or played at first thought; a
composition in the style of an extempore piece.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
impromptu
adv 1: without advance preparation; "he spoke ad lib" [syn: ad
lib, ad libitum, spontaneously, impromptu]
adj 1: with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib
comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano
recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit";
"an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to
sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast";
"a few unrehearsed comments" [syn: ad-lib,
extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore,
impromptu, offhand, offhanded, off-the-cuff,
unrehearsed]
n 1: an extemporaneous speech or remark; "a witty impromptu must
not sound premeditated"
2: a short musical passage that seems to have been made
spontaneously without advance preparation
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
76 Moby Thesaurus words for "impromptu":
ad lib, ad libitum, ad-lib, ad-libbing, arrangement,
at short notice, at sight, by ear, cadenza, caught napping,
caught off balance, caught short, extemporaneous, extemporaneously,
extemporaneousness, extemporarily, extemporariness, extemporary,
extempore, extemporization, extemporized, flourish, haphazard,
hasty, hot lick, improvisation, improvisatorial, improvise,
improvised, improvision, improviso, interpolation, jury-rig,
jury-rigged, lick, makeshift, measure, off the cuff, off the hip,
off-the-cuff, offhand, on sight, out of hand, playing by ear,
precipitate, pro tempore, quick, riff, rough-and-ready, snap,
stopgap, surprised, taken aback, taken by surprise, taken unawares,
temporary arrangement, temporary measure, tripped up, unarranged,
unbegun, unconcocted, uncontrived, undeliberated, undevised,
unhatched, unmade, unmanufactured, unorganized, unplanned,
unpremeditated, unprepared, unprimed, unready, unrehearsed,
unstudied, vamp