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Definition of extreme adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

extreme

adjective
 
/ɪkˈstriːm/
 
/ɪkˈstriːm/
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  1. [usually before noun] very great in degree
    • We are working under extreme pressure at the moment.
    • people living in extreme poverty
    • extreme heat/cold/temperatures
    • The heat in the desert was extreme.
    Extra Examples
    • Such results should be treated with extreme caution.
    • The film depicts extreme violence.
    • I'm having extreme difficulty in not losing my temper with her.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • appear
    • seem
    adverb
    • particularly
    • really
    • very
    phrases
    • at its most extreme
    See full entry
  2. not ordinary or usual; serious or severe
    • extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves
    • Children will be removed from their parents only in extreme circumstances.
    • It can cause nausea and, in extreme cases, death.
    • The ship got into difficulties in extreme conditions.
    • She was forced to take extreme measures.
    • Don't go doing anything extreme like leaving the country.
    • It was the most extreme example of cruelty to animals I had ever seen.
    Extra Examples
    • extreme weather conditions
    • This is hero-worship at its most extreme.
  3. (of people, political organizations, opinions, etc.) far from what most people consider to be normal, reasonable or acceptable
    • extreme left-wing/right-wing views
    • Fascism was basically an extreme form of nationalism.
    • an extreme nationalist organization
    • Their ideas are too extreme for me.
    • She didn't like the idea—it sounded too extreme.
    opposite moderate
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • appear
    • seem
    adverb
    • particularly
    • really
    • very
    phrases
    • at its most extreme
    See full entry
  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.
    • politicians on the extreme left of the party
  5. Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin extremus ‘outermost, utmost’, superlative of exterus ‘outer’.
See extreme in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee extreme in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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