extreme
UK /ɪkˈstɹiːm/ · US /ɪkˈstɹim/ adjective, noun, adverb
Forms extremer extremest extremes extream extreame xtreme
- adjective Of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost. “At the extreme edges, the coating is very thin.”
- adjective In the greatest or highest degree; intense. “He has an extreme aversion to needles, and avoids visiting the doctor.”
- adjective Excessive, or far beyond the norm. “His extreme love of model trains showed in the rails that criscrossed his entire home.”
- adjective Drastic, or of great severity. “I think the new laws are extreme, but many believe them necessary for national security.”
- adjective Of sports, difficult or dangerous; performed in a hazardous environment. “Television has begun to reflect the growing popularity of extreme sports such as bungee jumping and skateboarding.”
- adjective (archaic) Ultimate, final or last. “the extreme hour of life”
- noun The greatest or utmost point, degree, or condition.
- noun Each of the things at opposite ends of a range or scale. “extremes of temperature”
- noun (obsolete, plural only) One of the last moments of life.
- noun A drastic expedient. “Some people go to extremes for attention on social media.”
- noun (obsolete, plural only) Hardships, straits.
- noun (mathematics) Either of the two numbers at the ends of a proportion, as 1 and 6 in 1:2=3:6.
- adverb (archaic) Extremely.
Synonyms
farthest furthest most distant outermost remotest greatest highest dreadful immoderate unrestrained devilish excessive horrendous de trop extravagant intemperate lavish nimious obscene overmuch extreme point extremum utmost uttermost
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed into late Middle English from Old French extreme, from Latin extrēmus, the superlative of exter.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective At the utmost point, edge, or border; outermost; utmost; farthest; most remote; at the widest limit.
- adjective Last; final; conclusive; --said of time; as, the extreme hour of life.
- noun The utmost point or verge; that part which terminates a body; extremity.
- noun Utmost limit or degree that is supposable or tolerable; hence, furthest degree; any undue departure from the mean; --often in the plural: things at an extreme distance from each other, the most widely different states, etc.; as, extremes of heat and cold, of virtue and vice; extremes meet.
Etymology [L. extremus, superl. of exter, extrus, on the outside, outward: cf. F. extrême. See Exterior.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “extreme”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details