What's the difference between impromptu and offhand?

Impromptu


Definition:

  • (adv. / a.) Offhand; without previous study; extemporaneous; extempore; as, an impromptu verse.
  • (n.) Something made or done offhand, at the moment, or without previous study; an extemporaneous composition, address, or remark.
  • (n.) A piece composed or played at first thought; a composition in the style of an extempore piece.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were arrested on the eve of Russia's presidential vote last weekend, days after an impromptu performance of an anti-Putin song in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
  • (2) 8.25am BST Remiss of me not to have an entry from Tony Abbott for our impromptu Politics Live Tumblr - leaders looking at things.
  • (3) Nick Clegg, 24 October 2010 Chopin's Waltz in A Minor played by Idil Biret Sunday Morning Coming Down by Johnny Cash The Cross by Prince Petit Pays by Cesária Évora Street Spirit by Radiohead Life on Mars by David Bowie Waka Waka 2010 World Cup theme, by Shakira Schubert's Impromptu No.3 in G Flat Major played by Alfred Brendel Book The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa Luxury A stash of cigarettes David Cameron, 28 May 2006 Tangled Up In Blue by Bob Dylan Ernie by Benny Hill Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd Mendelssohn's On Wings of Song performed by Kiri Te Kanawa and Utah Symphony Orchestra Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead This Charming Man by The Smiths Perfect Circle by R.E.M.
  • (4) An impromptu party was held in the luxury show flat of the housing association that was evicting them.
  • (5) The journey up through the Atlas had taken us past impromptu festivals, weekly markets, flocks of goats and a millennium of history.
  • (6) It's one of the show's periodic "dark weeks", so the open-plan offices are almost empty, except for Oliver and his boss, Jon Stewart , who emerges briefly to perform an impromptu monologue about his plans to order falafel for lunch.
  • (7) For many, the greatest proof of the pope's commitment to inclusivity and his desire to appeal to those who have long felt ignored or criticised by the church came during an impromptu press conference on a flight back from Brazil in July.
  • (8) The other high-profile beneficiaries of the amnesty are Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina of the punk group Pussy Riot, who are serving two-year sentences for staging an impromptu punk performance in Moscow's main cathedral early last year.
  • (9) I'll do anything: peel spuds, look after the veg, make an impromptu pud.
  • (10) The maelstrom began only a few minutes into the televised debate at Hofstra University, on Long Island, on Wednesday night, when McCain seized on an impromptu encounter between Obama and a resident in Holland, Ohio, last weekend.
  • (11) A fter everything else – after Flynn, after the failure to replace him, after the Ice raids and the impromptu strategy session at Mar-a-Lago, and after yesterday’s bizarre press conference – who does Trump have left on his side?
  • (12) Whether you're a sculptor, painter, photographer, or simply want to show off some impromptu acts of creative genius, the Alley wants to hear from you.
  • (13) After a nauseating impromptu public love-in with historian Niall Ferguson , who undermined what had been a persuasive argument on the reorganisation of the history syllabus by suggesting we adopt the US model – was there ever a nation who understood less of the world?
  • (14) One man was arrested in Sydney after students staged an impromptu sit-in on a busy city street, while marches also brought traffic to a halt in Melbourne, Newcastle, Hobart, Brisbane and Perth.
  • (15) Turner fondly recalled an impromptu pre-election rally near Houston with Cruz and his wife giving speeches from the back of a pick-up truck: "They spoke our values then he went to Washington and followed them."
  • (16) When about 20,000 people turned up for an impromptu opposition funeral rally in Mazzeh in February this year, for example, it was the shabiha who, according to demonstrators interviewed by the Guardian in Damascus, fired on the protesters.
  • (17) 3.25pm ET: The crowd is moving off the Mall into what looks like an impromptu parade up Pennsylvania, heading for the White House...
  • (18) The impromptu performance came at the end of a nationwide minute’s silence to honour the 22 people killed in Monday’s bombing at Manchester Arena.
  • (19) Another 6 Music DJ, Tom Robinson, also spoke to the crowd, which broke into an impromptu rendition of The Beatles' Hey Jude, with the lyrics changed to "Save 6" .
  • (20) Apart from one December, when a travelling Oxford college choir thought we would enjoy an impromptu carol concert.

Offhand


Definition:

  • (a.) Instant; ready; extemporaneous; as, an offhand speech; offhand excuses.
  • (adv.) In an offhand manner; as, he replied offhand.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Victims have told the charity of offhand and dismissive reactions from police, and am impression that crimes are less serious if they are committed against a disabled person.
  • (2) As a result, there exists a tendency to dismiss almost offhandedly the entire concept of using material incentives to further contraceptive practice before any have been adequately tried.
  • (3) The list of films from the last couple years is long and includes The International , where the enemy is a bank, to comedies such as The Other Guys and Despicable Me where offhand jokes skewer banks and bankers even in children's films.
  • (4) He initially aspired to a career in medicine but an offhand comment from his year 8 teacher changed that.
  • (5) Turkish police used teargas, plastic bullets and water cannon to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who gathered on Friday at the scene of the country's worst industrial accident to protest the country's dismal work safety record, and the prime minister's apparently offhand attitude towards victims of the catastrophe.
  • (6) In person he's quite offhand, an odd mixture of shy and intensely self-assured, and with his stocky build and salt-and-pepper beard he conveys the impression of a very clever badger, burrowing away in the undergrowth of economic detail, ready to give quite a sharp bite if you get in his way.
  • (7) I do realize that some of my offhanded attempts at sarcasm and at humor were not as witty as they were intended to be, and were actually insensitive and even offensive.” Despite Wildstein’s guilty plea, Christie has said he is unconcerned.
  • (8) Unfortunately, offhand and casual comments relating to class prejudice and snobbery are very common.
  • (9) While attempting to rally support for US bombing of Syrian president Bashar Assad for his chemical-weapons use, Kerry saw his offhand musing about Assad giving up his weapons stockpiles turned into a Russian diplomatic coup that allowed Assad to avoid attack and remain in power.
  • (10) A guilty person it wouldn’t be as much of an issue to me, but on the offhand chance that somebody wasn’t, I would never take that chance with my life,” he said.
  • (11) I guess I'd thought about it when I was younger, and I said, in an offhand way, that I would do it somewhere down the road.
  • (12) These results suggest that the use of S concentration measurements may serve to be an effective tool for a simple, offhand evaluation of keratinization.
  • (13) The only hope police have is changing allegiances from associates of the gang or ex-girlfriends who may have witnessed and perhaps recorded on a mobile phone someone's confession or offhand remark.
  • (14) "The president made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics," he said.
  • (15) In their offhand way, they celebrate the man who was, by his own account, a stranger in a strange land.
  • (16) Trump is prone to mentioning NBC executives by name; Paul made offhand references to law school professors, from the conservative iconoclast Randy Barnett to the liberal civil rights activist Michelle Alexander .
  • (17) At some point she offhandedly told me that she had found out that once a month, on this particular night, the pub we were going to had a “gay night”.
  • (18) With the current state of our knowledge regarding uses, hazards, and dangers, the cavalier offhanded attitude which in the past has all too frequently characterized oxygen use in the premature is no longer acceptable.
  • (19) He later told Entertainment Weekly that while his promises initially manifested as an "offhand joke, a spur of the moment 140 characters" and was "more of a means to get the issue out there, that it is rude to text during movies," he was remained determined to stick to his guns.
  • (20) She made an offhand inquiry to her insurance company and was floored to learn that her policy – which she purchased as an individual – wouldn’t offer her any maternity coverage.