Extemporaneous, originally signifying of or from the time or occasion, has come to mean done or made with but little (if any) preparation, and is now chiefly applied to addresses of which the thought has been prepared, and only the language and incidental treatment left to the suggestion of the moment, so that an extemporaneous speech is understood to be any one that is not read or recited; impromptu keeps its original sense, denoting something that springs from the instant; the impromptu utterance is generally brief, direct, and vigorous; the extemporaneous speech may chance to be prosy. Offhand is still more emphatic as to the readiness and freedom of the utterance. 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.
Antonyms:
| elaborated, | premeditated, | prepared, | read, | recited, | studied, | written. |
EXTERMINATE.
Synonyms:
| annihilate, | eradicate, | overthrow, | uproot, |
| banish, | expel, | remove, | wipe out. |
| destroy, | extirpate, | root out, |
Exterminate (L. ex, out, and terminus, a boundary) signified primarily to drive beyond the bounds or limits of a country; the word is applied to races of men or animals, and is now almost exclusively used for removal by death; individuals are now said to be banished or expelled. Eradicate (L. e, out, and radix, root) is primarily applied to numbers or groups of plants which it is desired to remove effectually from the soil; a single tree may be uprooted, but is not said to be eradicated; we labor to eradicate[164] or root out noxious weeds. To extirpate (L. ex, out, and stirps, stem, stock) is not only to destroy the individuals of any race of plants or animals, but the very stock, so that the race can never be restored; we speak of eradicating a disease, of extirpating a cancer, exterminating wild beasts or hostile tribes; we seek to eradicate or extirpate all vices and evils. Compare [ABOLISH].
Antonyms:
| augment, | breed, | cherish, | develop, | increase, | populate, | replenish, |
| beget, | build up, | colonize, | foster, | plant, | propagate, | settle. |