extreme
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- maximum, acute, great, highest, intense, severe, supreme, ultimate, utmost
- severe, drastic, harsh, radical, rigid, strict, uncompromising
- excessive, fanatical, immoderate, radical
- farthest, far-off, most distant, outermost, remotest
[noun]
Synonyms:
- limit, boundary, edge, end, extremity, pole

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Contrasted words: conservative, moderate, restrained, reasonable, sensible
Related Words: deep, moving, excessive, immoderate, desperate, drastic, extravagant, unreasonable, violent, wild, intolerable, unwarranted, excess, inordinancy, climax, consummation, culmination, ceiling, crest, crown, height, peak, pinnacle, summit, top, maximum, utmost, uttermost

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English Thesaurus: right-wing, left-wing, green, radical, liberal, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ex‧treme¹ S3 W3 /ɪkˈstriːm/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: extreme, extremism, extremist, extremity; adjective: extreme, extremist; adverb: extremely]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: extrême, from Latin extremus 'most outward', from exter; ⇒ external]

1. [only before noun] very great in degree:
Extreme poverty still exists in many rural areas.
extreme care/caution
It is necessary to use extreme caution with chemicals.
extreme cold
He had extreme difficulty getting hold of the ingredients.

2. very unusual and severe or serious
extreme example/case
an extreme case of cruelty
Force is only justified in extreme circumstances.
extreme weather/conditions etc

3. extreme west/end/left etc the part furthest to the west, nearest the end etc:
on the extreme edge of the cliff

4. extreme opinions, beliefs, or organizations, especially political ones, are considered by most people to be unacceptable and unreasonable:
extreme right-wing nationalists

5. [only before noun]extreme sports/surfing/skiing etc an extreme sport is one that is done in a way that has much more risk and so is more dangerous than an ordinary form of the sport

6. extreme athlete/surfer/skier etc someone who does extreme sports:
Extreme surfers will ride waves that reach heights of more than fifty feet.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. extreme² noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: extreme, extremism, extremist, extremity; adjective: extreme, extremist; adverb: extremely]

1. a situation, quality etc which is as great as it can possibly be – used especially when talking about two opposites
extreme of
The bacteria can withstand extremes of heat and cold.
In fact, the truth lies between the two extremes.
at the other/opposite extreme
At the other extreme is a country like Switzerland with almost no unemployment.
Advertisements seem to go from one extreme to the other (=change from one extreme thing to something totally opposite).

2. in the extreme to a very great degree:
This kind of experiment seems cruel in the extreme.

3. to extremes if someone does something to extremes, they do it to a point beyond what is normal or acceptable
take/carry something to extremes
Problems only occur when this attitude is taken to extremes.
She had gone to extremes to avoid seeing him.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

extreme
adj.
VERBS be, seem, sound | become
ADV. very | a bit, fairly, a little, quite, rather, somewhat Some of his views seem rather extreme.
dangerously | politically
PHRASES at its most extreme This is hero-worship at its most extreme.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

extreme
noun
ADJ. opposite, polar Their views are at opposite extremes from each other.
climatic, political, temperature It's a difficult place to live because of its climatic extremes.
VERB + EXTREME avoid Avoid any extremes of emotional behaviour.
go to He went to the extreme of adulation, describing Churchill as the greatest man who ever lived.
carry sth to, take sth to It's foolish to take any dieting to extremes.
PREP. at an/the At the extreme, some nuclear waste is so radioactive it has to be kept isolated for thousands of years.
between ~s There has to be a solution between these extremes.
in the ~ His voice was scornful in the extreme.
to the ~ She was always kindly and generous to the extreme.
~s of These photographs show extremes of obesity and emaciation.
PHRASES at one extreme, at the other extreme At the other extreme, women still childless at 32 were more likely to be from a professional background.
go from one extreme to the other She goes from one extreme to the other, and either works very hard or does absolutely nothing.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

extreme
adjective
BAD: Since he stopped smoking, there has been an extreme improvement in his health.
GOOD: Since he stopped smoking, there has been a dramatic improvement in his health.
BAD: Doctors have to keep up with all the extreme new medical developments.
GOOD: Doctors have to keep up with all the major new medical developments.

Usage Note:
Extreme is mainly used to describe situations, behaviour, opinions and beliefs: 'extreme poverty', 'extreme caution', 'extreme views', 'extreme disappointment'.
When you are talking about a change or development, use words such as great/major/important/considerable/dramatic : 'Without these major changes, the company would have collapsed.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

right-wing adjective a right-wing person or group wants low taxes, a strong army and police force, and the individual to be free from government interference as much as possible:
right-wing political parties
Some of his supporters are very right-wing.
right-wing policies on gun control
left-wing adjective a left-wing person or group wants the government to make society more equal by increasing taxes for rich people, and taking control of important industries and services:
a left-wing newspaper
His views are very left-wing.
green adjective [usually before noun] supporting policies and principles which will protect the environment:
green politicians
the Green Party
The government is under pressure to improve its green credentials (=to seem more like it wants to protect the environment).
radical adjective supporting political ideas that will involve great change:
radical politicians
a radical economic reform programme
liberal adjective supporting political ideas that will allow people to have greater freedom:
They want the government to have a more liberal policy on drugs.
moderate adjective having political opinions which are not extreme:
People generally become more moderate as they get older.
The bill is supported by moderate Republicans.
extreme adjective having political opinions which are considered to be very unreasonable by many people:
His views on immigration are very extreme.
an extreme right-wing organization

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲