extremity

American  

[ik-strem-i-tee] / ɪkˈstrɛm ɪ ti /

noun

plural

extremities

1. the extreme or terminal point, limit, or part of something.

   Synonyms:

   boundary, border, verge, termination, end

2. a limb of the body.

3. Usually extremities. the end part of a limb, as a hand or foot.

   to experience cold in one's extremities.

4. Often extremities. a condition or circumstance of extreme need, distress, etc..

   to suffer the extremities of being poor.

5. the utmost or any extreme degree.

   the extremity of joy.

6. an extreme or extraordinary measure, act, etc..

   to go to any extremity to feed the children.

7. extreme nature or character.

   the extremity of his views on foreign trade.

8. Archaic. a person's last moment before death.

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extremity British  

/ ɪkˈstrɛmɪtɪ /

noun

1. the farthest or outermost point or section; termination

2. the greatest or most intense degree

3. an extreme condition or state, as of adversity or disease

4. a limb, such as a leg, arm, or wing, or the part of such a limb farthest from the trunk

5. archaic (usually plural) a drastic or severe measure

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Other Word Forms

• superextremity
  noun

Etymology

Origin of extremity

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English word from Latin word extrēmitās. See extreme, -ity

Explanation

An extremity is a limb or appendage of the body, particularly the hands and feet. If the weather is cold, you have to be sure to protect your extremities from frostbite by wearing gloves, warm socks, and boots. The noun extremity also means the outermost point or part — the one that's farthest away. Nauset Light Beach on Cape Cod, for example, is the easternmost extremity in the state of Massachusetts. Extremity can also refer to the greatest degree, especially of an emotion or physical feeling. The extremity of the pain in your ankle might make you realize you should go to the emergency room for x-rays.

Example Sentences

Extremity melanoma refers to skin cancer that can develop on the arms, legs, hands and feet.

From Science Daily • May 10, 2024

Extremity — on the page and in life — was the credo of this self-professed descendant of Sade and Genet, contemptuous of the writerly temptations for self-regard or bourgeois comfort.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2020

In Strangers Drowning: Voyages to the Brink of Moral Extremity, the New Yorker writer Larissa MacFarquhar explores why we are so sceptical of “do-gooders” and why their good deeds make us so uncomfortable.

From The Guardian • Aug. 27, 2018

Extremity emerges more often from the instrumental ensemble, which Ms. Saariaho reduced from a full orchestra to a complement of fewer than 20 here, conducted by Joana Carneiro.

From New York Times • Jun. 10, 2016

The Statue of that Princess, in yellow Copper, is placed at the Extremity of the Nave.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume II Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels From Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Related Words

• terminus