CARVIEW |
Select Language
HTTP/2 200
date: Thu, 09 Oct 2025 07:04:11 GMT
content-type: text/html; charset=utf-8
content-security-policy-report-only: default-src 'self';img-src 'self' data: https://flickr.com https://*.flickr.com https://s.gravatar.com https://s.gravatar.com/avatar https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar https://i1.wp.com/cdn.auth0.com/avatars https://cdn.auth0.com/avatars https://g.stripe.com/ https://ssl.google-analytics.com https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/ https://farm66.static.flickr.com https://www.google-analytics.com https://tpc.googlesyndication.com https://pbs.twimg.com https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net https://*.amazon-adsystem.com https://fundingchoicesmessages.google.com https://*.3lift.com https://ams-pageview-public.s3.amazonaws.com https://www.google.com https://syndication.twitter.com https://image8.pubmatic.com https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net https://*.googleusercontent.com;base-uri 'self';font-src 'self' https: data:;frame-ancestors 'self';frame-src https://js.stripe.com https://platform.twitter.com/ https://syndication.twitter.com/ https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/ https://*.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/ https://www.google.com/ https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/;connect-src 'self' https: https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ppub_config https://bam.nr-data.net/events/1/cb925c8058;object-src none;script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' report-sample https://js.stripe.com/v3/ https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.min.js https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.4.1.slim.min.js https://code.jquery.com/jquery-migrate-1.4.1.min.js https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/popper.js@1.16.0/dist/umd/popper.min.js https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.4.1/js/bootstrap.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/validate.js/0.13.1/validate.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/underscore.js/1.8.3/underscore-min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/list.js/1.5.0/list.min.js https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js https://www.googletagmanager.com/ https://ssl.google-analytics.com/ga.js https://js-agent.newrelic.com/nr-spa-1184.min.js https://fundingchoicesmessages.google.com https://bam.nr-data.net https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net https://www.googletagservices.com https://adservice.google.com https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/tether/1.4.0/js/tether.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.12.9/umd/popper.min.js https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/clipboard@2.0.8/dist/clipboard.min.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/howler/2.1.1/howler.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/validator/10.9.0/validator.min.js https://*.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/ https://*.googlesyndication.com/ https://platform.twitter.com/js/ https://cdn.ampproject.org https://www.google-analytics.com https://adservice.google.be https://adservice.google.ca https://adservice.google.co.id https://adservice.google.co.mz https://adservice.google.co.th https://adservice.google.co.uk https://adservice.google.co.za https://adservice.google.com.au https://adservice.google.com.ec https://adservice.google.com.hk https://adservice.google.com.ng https://adservice.google.com.np https://adservice.google.com.ph https://adservice.google.com.sa https://adservice.google.de https://adservice.google.es https://adservice.google.fi https://adservice.google.fr https://adservice.google.ie https://adservice.google.it https://adservice.google.lk https://adservice.google.lt https://adservice.google.nl https://adservice.google.no https://adservice.google.rs https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net;script-src-attr none;style-src 'self' https: 'unsafe-inline' report-sample;report-uri https://5f9d927665d1a16209ba908c.endpoint.csper.io
x-dns-prefetch-control: off
expect-ct: max-age=0
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
strict-transport-security: max-age=15552000; includeSubDomains
x-download-options: noopen
x-content-type-options: nosniff
x-permitted-cross-domain-policies: none
referrer-policy: origin-when-cross-origin
x-xss-protection: 0
etag: W/"14c1a-d4lt4lV9zu9utVqDoXxIgV97tlk"
set-cookie: cookienik=eyJjc3JmU2VjcmV0IjoibldPTzljNmtXUHhxV3ZLS0t3V0FHcDlfIn0=; path=/; expires=Sun, 12 Oct 2025 07:04:11 GMT; domain=wordnik.com; secure; httponly
set-cookie: cookienik.sig=xg73hNJ7fFIhusJnULlTrqakrx0; path=/; expires=Sun, 12 Oct 2025 07:04:11 GMT; domain=wordnik.com; secure; httponly
vary: Accept-Encoding
content-encoding: gzip
ad lib - definition and meaning
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb In an unrestrained manner; spontaneously.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An abbreviation of
ad libitum .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb At
pleasure . - adverb At
will . - adverb To whatever extent.
- adverb
Extemporaneously . - adjective
Extemporaneous ,impromptu . - verb To perform without
script . - verb To perform without preparation.
- verb To perform
extemporaneously .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb without advance preparation
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Short for ad libitum.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
abbreviation of ad libitum, from New Latin ad libitum.
Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word ad lib.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
Related Words
synonyms (119)
Words with the same meaning
- a beneplacito
- a discretion
- ad arbitrium
- ad libitum
- ad-libbing
- al piacere
- arrangement
- at choice
- at pleasure
- at short notice
- at sight
- at will
- be caught napping
- be surprised
- be taken unawares
- be unprepared
- by ear
- caught napping
- caught off balance
- caught short
- cook up
- dash off
- disqualification
- do offhand
- extemporaneous
- extemporaneously
- extemporaneousness
- extemporarily
- extemporariness
- extemporary
- extempore
- extemporization
- extemporize
- extemporized
- fake
- go off half-cocked
- haphazard
- hasty
- have no plan
- impromptu
- improvisate
- improvisation
- improvisatorial
- improvise
- improvised
- improvision
- improviso
- incapability
- incompetence
- jury-rig
- jury-rigged
- knock off
- lack of preparation
- lash up
- make up
- makeshift
- measure
- nonpreparation
- nonpreparedness
- off the cuff
- off the hip
- off-the-cuff
- offhand
- on sight
- out of hand
- planlessness
- play by ear
- playing by ear
- precipitate
- pro tempore
- rough-and-ready
- scrap the plan
- snap
- stopgap
- strike off
- surprised
- taken aback
- taken by surprise
- taken unawares
- temporary arrangement
- temporary measure
- throw off
- throw together
- toss off
- toss out
- tripped up
- unarranged
- unbegun
- unconcocted
- uncontrived
- undeliberated
- undevised
- unfitness
- unfittedness
- unforced
- unhatched
- unmade
- unmanufactured
- unorganized
- unplanned
- unpremeditated
- unprepared
- unpreparedness
- unprimed
- unqualification
- unqualifiedness
- unreadiness
- unready
- unrehearsed
- unstudied
- unsuitability
- unsuitableness
- unsuitedness
- vamp
- vulnerability
- whip up
- whomp up
- wing it
- without coercion
artoparts commented on the word ad lib
See: ad libitum.
February 18, 2009