extremely
Americanadverb
adverb
-
to the extreme; exceedingly
-
(intensifier)
I behaved extremely badly
Usage
What does extremely mean? Extremely means to a very great degree—exceedingly. Instead of saying I’m very very tired, you could say I’m extremely tired. Extremely is the adverb form of the adjective extreme, which means of the highest degree or intensity. Extremely is almost always used to modify (describe) adjectives and almost never verbs. It emphasizes or intensifies the meaning of the adjective and indicates that its level is far beyond the ordinary. Example: At some times during the winter, it gets so extremely cold here that it’s dangerous to go outside for more than a minute.
Etymology
Origin of extremely
Explanation
Extremely is a word that emphasizes the intensity of whatever it is you're talking about. If you say you're extremely angry, that word alone tells me I better not mess with you. Extremely comes from the word extreme, which means great, severe, or exceptional. If you climb to extreme heights on a mountain, you've climbed extremely high. Use extremely to let people know that what you're talking about exceeds or goes beyond the norm. A joke that's not just funny, but extremely funny, is one that might have you gasping to catch your breath from laughing so hard.
Vocabulary lists containing extremely
List 3
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List 2
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ly
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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.
With most of England and Wales still in drought, we need to rely on a wetter winter to fill up extremely low reservoirs.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
For investors who believe AI-driven demand for memory will remain strong, “Micron is extremely cheap,” Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson told MarketWatch, because its power to raise prices and its revenues will continue to hold up.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
“It’s very hard to actually assign to it a dollar value, but it’s extremely valuable as a part of our defense strategy,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
"But this paper is not like that. In this paper, there are two separate projects led by two different authors that came together as one larger discovery. And I think that's extremely important to note."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
Glass objects from the Byzantine era were extremely rare.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
