EXTREME


Meaning of EXTREME in English

/ ɪkˈstriːm; NAmE / adjective , noun

■ adjective

1.

[ usually before noun ] very great in degree :

We are working under extreme pressure at the moment.

people living in extreme poverty

The heat in the desert was extreme.

2.

not ordinary or usual; serious or severe :

Children will be removed from their parents only in extreme circumstances .

Don't go doing anything extreme like leaving the country.

It was the most extreme example of cruelty to animals I had ever seen.

extreme weather conditions

3.

( of people, political organizations, opinions, etc. ) far from what most people consider to be normal, reasonable or acceptable

OPP moderate :

extreme left-wing / right-wing views

4.

[ only before noun ] as far as possible from the centre, the beginning or in the direction mentioned :

Kerry is in the extreme west of Ireland.

She sat on the extreme edge of her seat.

■ noun

1.

a feeling, situation, way of behaving, etc. that is as different as possible from another or is opposite to it :

extremes of love and hate

He used to be very shy, but now he's gone to the opposite extreme (= changed from one extreme kind of behaviour to another) .

2.

the greatest or highest degree of sth :

extremes of cold, wind or rain

IDIOMS

- go, etc. to extremes | take sth to extremes

- in the extreme

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WORD ORIGIN

late Middle English : via Old French from Latin extremus outermost, utmost, superlative of exterus outer.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.