extreme

[ ik-streem ]

/ ɪkˈstrim /

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adjective, ex·trem·er, ex·trem·est.

of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average: extreme measures.

utmost or exceedingly great in degree: extreme joy.

farthest from the center or middle; outermost; endmost: the extreme limits of a town.

farthest, utmost, or very far in any direction: an object at the extreme point of vision.

exceeding the bounds of moderation: extreme fashions.

going to the utmost or very great lengths in action, habit, opinion, etc.: an extreme conservative.

last or final: extreme hopes.

Chiefly Sports. very dangerous or difficult: extreme skiing.

noun

the utmost or highest degree, or a very high degree: cautious to an extreme.

one of two things as remote or different from each other as possible: the extremes of joy and grief.

the furthest or utmost length; an excessive length, beyond the ordinary or average: extremes in dress.

an extreme act, measure, condition, etc.: the extreme of poverty.

Mathematics.

the first or the last term, as of a proportion or series.
a relative maximum or relative minimum value of a function in a given region.

Logic. the subject or the predicate of the conclusion of a syllogism; either of two terms that are separated in the premises and brought together in the conclusion.

Archaic. the utmost point, or extremity, of something.

Nearby words

Origin of extreme

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin extrēmus, superlative of exterus “outward.” See exterior

SYNONYMS FOR extreme

2. greatest, highest; superlative. 3. ultimate, last, uttermost, remotest. 6. extravagant, immoderate, excessive, fanatical, uncompromising, unreasonable.

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ANTONYMS FOR extreme

6. moderate.

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Related forms

ex·treme·ness, nouno·ver·ex·treme, adjectivequa·si-ex·treme, adjectivesu·per·ex·treme, adjective

su·per·ex·treme·ly, adverbsu·per·ex·treme·ness, nounun·ex·treme, adjective

Synonym study

6. See radical.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for extreme

Investigators will focus on whether the sudden emergency was so extreme that no degree of pilot skill would have helped.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
No one likes it when their sandcastle is knocked over, but his reaction is a bit, err, extreme.
Was Baby Jesus A Holy Terror?|Candida Moss|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The grief in this house is extreme of course; this is a horror movie, after all.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook|Tim Teeman|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To not give in to profiteers, paid-off politicians and an extreme minority who hate its government and way of life.
The Gun Battle Since Newtown|Cliff Schecter|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Mailer would argue, for example, that timidity does more harm to the novelist than donning a mask of extreme self-confidence.
Mailer’s Letters Pack a Punch and a Surprising Degree of Sweetness|Ronald K. Fried|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cortez, to his extreme disappointment, found the country poor.
Hernando Cortez|John S. C. Abbott
On his extreme right Cissey occupied the Vanves gate and lined the whole railway of the west.
History of the Commune of 1871|P. Lissagary
So that he appears to have followed his own pleasure with extreme independence.
Devon, Its Moorlands, Streams and Coasts|Rosalind Northcote
In considering some of the extreme examples, we must revise our idea that art is or should be always beautiful.
Visual Illusions|Matthew Luckiesh
Who does not know of extreme mischief arising from over-guidance in social relations as well as in state affairs?
The Claims of Labour|Arthur Helps

British Dictionary definitions for extreme

extreme

/ (ɪkˈstriːm) /

adjective

being of a high or of the highest degree or intensityextreme cold; extreme difficulty

exceeding what is usual or reasonable; immoderateextreme behaviour

very strict, rigid, or severe; drastican extreme measure

(prenominal) farthest or outermost in directionthe extreme boundary

meteorol of, relating to, or characteristic of a continental climate

noun

the highest or furthest degree (often in the phrases in the extreme, go to extremes)

(often plural) either of the two limits or ends of a scale or range of possibilitiesextremes of temperature

maths

the first or last term of a series or a proportion
a maximum or minimum value of a function

logic the subject or predicate of the conclusion of a syllogism

Derived Formsextremeness, noun

Word Origin for extreme

C15: from Latin extrēmus outermost, from exterus on the outside; see exterior

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for extreme

extreme

adj.

early 15c., from Old French extreme (13c.), from Latin extremus "outermost, utmost, farthest, last," superlative of exterus (see exterior).

In English as in Latin, not always felt as a superlative, hence more extreme, most extreme (which were condemned by Johnson). The noun is first recorded 1540s, originally of the end of life, cf. Latin in extremis. Extreme unction preserves the sense of "last, latest" (15c.). Extremes "opposite ends of anything" is from 1550s.

Science definitions for extreme