- 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).
- She goes from one extreme to the other (= changes from one extreme kind of behaviour to another).
- At the other extreme, the top 10 per cent receives 30 per cent of the nation's income.
- between extremes He takes a position somewhere these two extremes.
Extra Examples- After always putting too much salt in her cooking, she went to the opposite extreme and banished it completely.
- Avoid any extremes of emotional behaviour.
- These photographs show extremes of obesity and emaciation.
- She goes from one extreme to the other, and either works very hard or does absolutely nothing.
- Their views are at opposite extremes from each other.
- There has to be a solution between these extremes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- opposite
- polar
- logical
- …
- avoid
- go to
- reach
- …
- at an/the extreme
- between extremes
- in the extreme
- …
- at one extreme
- at the other extreme
- go from one extreme to the other
- …
- the greatest or highest degree of something
- The climate is mild with no extremes of temperature.
- extremes of cold, wind or rain
- the climatic extremes of the mountains
- Many of these plants won't tolerate temperature extremes.
Extra Examples- At the extreme, some nuclear waste is so radioactive it has to be kept isolated for thousands of years.
- He went to the extreme of adulation, describing Churchill as the greatest man who ever lived.
- It's a difficult place to live in because of its climatic extremes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- opposite
- polar
- logical
- …
- avoid
- go to
- reach
- …
- at an/the extreme
- between extremes
- in the extreme
- …
- at one extreme
- at the other extreme
- go from one extreme to the other
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin extremus ‘outermost, utmost’, superlative of exterus ‘outer’.
Idioms
See extreme in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee extreme in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishgo, etc. to extremes/an extreme | take something to extremes/an extreme
- to act or be forced to act in a way that is far from normal or reasonable
- It's embarrassing the extremes he'll go to in order to impress his boss.
- Taken to extremes, this kind of behaviour can be dangerous.
- In the jungle they were driven to extremes in order to survive.
Extra Examples- There is no need to go to such extremes.
- It's foolish to take any dieting to extremes.
- She has taken cleanliness to a new extreme.
in the extreme
- (formal) to a great degree
- The journey would be dangerous in the extreme.
- His voice was scornful in the extreme.
Check pronunciation:
extreme