ad-lib

A form of ad lib — At pleasure.

Similar
extemporaneousextemporaryextemporeimpromptuoffhandoffhandedoff-the-cuffunrehearsed
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Meanings

adjectivead-lib (comparative more ad-lib, superlative most ad-lib)

comparative more ad-lib · superlative most ad-lib

  1. alternativeAlternative form of ad lib.
nounad-lib (plural ad-libs)

plural ad-libs

  1. alternativeAlternative form of ad lib.
verbad-lib (third-person singular simple present ad-libs, present participle ad-libbing, simple past and past participle ad-libbed)

present singular third person ad-libs · participle present ad-libbing · participle past ad-libbed · past ad-libbed

  1. alternativeAlternative form of ad lib.

    Hope’s onstage ad-libbing generated more humor and attention than the show’s lacklustre libretto.

    1998 December 21, The New Yorker
    1 more example

    I watched Jeb Bush as his brother spoke. He paid attention, grinned and laughed, even ad-libbed when called upon.

    2004 March 15, The New Yorker

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivewith little or no preparation or forethought

Similar
extemporaneousextemporaryextemporeimpromptuoffhandoffhandedoff-the-cuffunrehearsedunprepared

adjectivesaid or done without having been planned or written in advance

Similar
spontaneousunwrittenunscripted

verbperform without preparation

Similar
improviseimprovizeextemporizeextemporise
Broader
performexecutedo
Also see
extemporaneousextemporaryextemporeextemporiseextemporizeimpromptuimproviseoffhandoffhandedoff-the-cuffspontaneousunpreparedunrehearsedunscriptedunwritten

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

ad-lib. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ad-lib

MLA

“ad-lib.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ad-lib. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ad-lib,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ad-lib.

Source: ad-lib on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.