ad libitum
- idiom
- /æd ˈlɪbɪtəm/
- Specialized
:
ad libitum
- The diet was fed as a total mixed ration (TMR) 3 times daily (0730, 1330, and 2000 h) to ensure ad libitum intake, allowing for 5% orts, along with free access to water.
- ad libitum intake
Examples
-
Larvae were fed Artemia nauplii ad libitum twice per day, five days per week.
Academic text (2018) -
Animals received food and water ad libitum during one week of acclimation.
Academic text (2018) -
Energy intake was ad libitum in both studies, which were designed with the intention of avoiding the previously mentioned influence of motivation to lose weight.
Academic text (2018) -
To our knowledge, this is the first exercise training study that tried to achieve ad libitum conditions for participants while avoiding the influence of explicit motivation towards weight loss.
Academic text (2018) -
In a departure from Romantic ideals, fractal aesthetics suppose that "spontaneous" effects can be achieved through calculated as well as ad libitum means.
Fiction book (1999) -
All mice were housed at a preferred temperature (22-24 degrees C) under a 12-hour light-dark cycle and fed ad libitum.
Academic text (2018) -
During the experiment periods, cows were fed with a TMR 3 times daily (0730, 1330, and 2000 h) to ensure ad libitum intake and were infused 3 times daily after feeding for 30 minutes.
Academic text (2018) -
During the study, participants were allowed to eat snacks ad libitum, indulging their cravings without restrictions.
-
In the musical improvisation class, students were encouraged to perform ad libitum, expressing their creativity freely.
-
At the buffet, diners could serve themselves ad libitum, taking as much food as they desired.
Synonyms
48
4.4
To act naturally without planning or being forced
37
6.3
Done or said without preparation
1
7.7
Says or does something without planning
Antonyms
How Spontaneous
48
4.4
1
4.6
2
9.9
- Specialized
7
6.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
ad + libitum
The phrase literally combines Latin ad (at/to) + libitum (pleasure/wish), yielding the meaning 'at one's pleasure' or 'as desired', so a learner who knows the constituent meanings can directly derive the MWE sense. That said, the parts are Latin learned-words rather than native English items and the phrase is a specialist Latinism (especially in musical registers), so it may be unfamiliar in practice despite its compositional transparency.
Etymology
The phrase ad libitum comes from Latin and literally means 'at pleasure'. Musicians who saw ad libitum could play freely or make up their own parts, and speakers could talk without a set text, so today it means 'without prior preparation' or 'as you wish'.