extreme
Americanadjective
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of a character or kind farthest removed from the ordinary or average.
extreme measures.
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utmost or exceedingly great in degree.
extreme joy.
- Synonyms:
- superlative
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farthest from the center or middle; outermost; endmost.
the extreme limits of a town.
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farthest, utmost, or very far in any direction.
an object at the extreme point of vision.
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exceeding the bounds of moderation.
extreme fashions.
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going to the utmost or very great lengths in action, habit, opinion, etc..
an extreme conservative.
- Synonyms:
- unreasonable, uncompromising, fanatical, excessive, immoderate, extravagant
- Antonyms:
- moderate
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last or final.
extreme hopes.
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Chiefly Sports. very dangerous or difficult.
extreme skiing.
noun
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extremes
plural
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the utmost or highest degree, or a very high degree.
cautious to an extreme.
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one of two things as remote or different from each other as possible.
the extremes of joy and grief.
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the furthest or utmost length; an excessive length, beyond the ordinary or average.
extremes in dress.
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an extreme act, measure, condition, etc..
the extreme of poverty.
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Mathematics.
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the first or the last term, as of a proportion or series.
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a relative maximum or relative minimum value of a function in a given region.
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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.
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Archaic. the utmost point, or extremity, of something.
adjective
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being of a high or of the highest degree or intensity
extreme cold
extreme difficulty
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exceeding what is usual or reasonable; immoderate
extreme behaviour
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very strict, rigid, or severe; drastic
an extreme measure
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(prenominal) farthest or outermost in direction
the extreme boundary
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meteorol of, relating to, or characteristic of a continental climate
noun
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the highest or furthest degree (often in the phrases in the extreme, go to extremes )
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(often plural) either of the two limits or ends of a scale or range of possibilities
extremes of temperature
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maths
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the first or last term of a series or a proportion
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a maximum or minimum value of a function
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logic the subject or predicate of the conclusion of a syllogism
Synonym Usage
See radical.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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extremenessnoun
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superextremenessnoun
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overextremeadjective
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quasi-extremeadjective
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superextremeadjective
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unextremeadjective
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superextremelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of extreme
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin extrēmus “most outward,” superlative of exterus “outward”; see exterior
Explanation
Something extreme is far out, either in terms of distance or intensity. Extreme sports are wild or dangerous, and an extreme height is very high. When you talk about extreme things, you're talking about things that are very, very...something. An extreme point is the farthest distance from a place. Extreme eating is a type of contest — like hot dog-eating — in which people eat a freakish amount of food to compete with each other. An extreme biker is biking down dangerously steep mountain sides. Anything extreme is pushing the limits and taking things about as far as they can go.
Vocabulary lists containing extreme
Lesson 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Lima beamed a false navigation signal at the missile, prompting it to alter direction and break up under the pressure of its own extreme speed, according to Night Watch officers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The extreme heat is driven by a persistent high pressure ridge that has parked over the region causing sinking warming air with very little overnight relief.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Judge Jeannine Pratt called Flynn an "extreme" risk to the public as she imposed her sentence.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The US government opposed the request, arguing she posed "an extreme risk of flight and danger to the public."
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
As they stood on the hilltop they saw a few extreme sledders and snowboarders.
From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene
Ayer pushes the emotional and physical extremes and it feels like a dirge: a forced march through the muddy Alaskan wilderness with plenty of body horror on top.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The nearly weeklong event takes place on a sun-blasted, nearly six-square-mile patch of a 200-mile Pleistocene-era lakebed in Nevada, and is a place of extremes, with very cold nights and hot days.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
"The implications for people are immense because El Nino is a major source of climate extremes and hazards."
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
The challenge for brands is to acknowledge that development without endorsing the extremes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
I am composed of strong metal, am continuously conscious, and can stand extremes of environment easily.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
In other respects anarchism may be said to be but an extremer phase of socialism.
From Contemporary Socialism by John Rae
He professed to like my supernatural beliefs much better than the anti-supernatural views of the extremer portion of his brethren.
From Modern Skepticism: A Journey Through the Land of Doubt and Back Again A Life Story by Joseph Barker
A sharp check from the public authority generally brings out to the front this extremer element in German socialism.
From Contemporary Socialism by John Rae
A prominent King's man, nay, a Queen's man, which was held to be something extremer, he played, however, an individual part in the struggle.
From The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Anne MacDonell
O hapless race! what still extremer woe Doth Fortune doom the living to bemoan?
From The Æneid of Virgil Translated into English Verse by E. Fairfax Taylor by Edward Fairfax Taylor
The printing press, praised by Martin Luther as “God’s highest and extremest act of Grace,” led to the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation — and a century of bloody religious wars.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2016
Now even the extremest obscenities have lost their power to shock.
From The Guardian ● May 23, 2013
The President-elect said he hoped the ceremony would be "one of the extremest in simplicity that we have ever had."
From Time Magazine Archive
“There will never be such a thing in my house,” said Wang Lung, in extremest horror.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
To the same class belongs Panebianco, a zealous friend of the extremest claims of the Bourbons.
From Letters From Rome on the Council by Johann Joseph Ignaz von D?llinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
