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What is the difference between improvisation¹ and extempore² and where should one use each of these terms?

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Quite apart from anything else, improvisation is a noun, extemporaneous is an adjective and extemporaneously is an adverb. If you are concerned about the semantic difference, a good dictionary should be able to help you. This is general reference, and I am voting to close. – Barrie England Jan 1 at 20:05
Have you read english.blogoverflow.com/2012/12/you-could-look-it-up about definitions? – Andrew Leach Jan 1 at 20:06
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@BarrieEngland pls check my edit. I had my homework done before posting here. Hope to see your answer. :-) – Amandeep Jiddewar Jan 2 at 6:29
@AmandeepJiddewar Linking to an etymology doesn't really show effort in figuring out the difference, unles when you include the parts you think are relevant – simchona♦ Jan 2 at 7:02
Pedantic close voters please see MετάEd english.stackexchange.com/a/96328/14666 – Kris Jan 2 at 7:58
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closed as general reference by Jasper Loy, Barrie England, Andrew Leach, FumbleFingers, tchrist Jan 1 at 21:09

This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

1 Answer

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Extemporaneously means, strictly speaking “without time to prepare”, though it has also acquired a secondary meaning of “without a prepared text or notes”.¹

Improvisation means an act of improvising. To improvise is to “act without foresight”, that is, without seeing in advance what one will do.²

These words are not always synonymous. Imagine a European classical musician asked to perform a set piece without warning. This musician will perform extemporaneously but without improvising. Now imagine a jazz musician asked to perform without warning. This musician will perform extemporaneously and also improvise the music itself.

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Yes, MetaEd, neverthless, as an another example, during the extemporaneous speech, the speaker also uses an improvisational, +1. – Carlo_R. Jan 1 at 20:24

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