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Webster 1913 Edition


Extreme

Ex-treme′

,
Adj.
[L.
extremus
, superl. of
exter
,
extrus
, on the outside, outward: cf. F.
extrême
. See
Exterior
.]
1.
At the utmost point, edge, or border; outermost; utmost; farthest; most remote; at the widest limit.
2.
Last; final; conclusive; – said of time;
as, the
extreme
hour of life
.
3.
The best of worst; most urgent; greatest; highest; immoderate; excessive; most violent;
as, an
extreme
case;
extreme
folly.
“The extremest remedy.”
Dryden.
Extreme rapidity.”
Sir W. Scott.
Yet
extreme
gusts will blow out fire.
Shakespeare
4.
Radical; ultra;
as,
extreme
opinions
.
The Puritans or
extreme
Protestants.
Gladstone.
5.
(Mus.)
Extended or contracted as much as possible; – said of intervals;
as, an
extreme
sharp second; an
extreme
flat forth.
Extreme and mean ratio
(Geom.)
,
the relation of a line and its segments when the line is so divided that the whole is to the greater segment is to the less.
Extreme distance
.
(Paint.)
See
Distance
.,
Noun.
, 6.
Extreme unction
.
See under
Unction
.
☞ Although this adjective, being superlative in signification, is not properly subject to comparison, the superlative form not unfrequently occurs, especially in the older writers. “Tried in his extremest state.”
Spenser.
Extremest hardships.”
Sharp.
Extremest of evils.”
Bacon.
Extremest verge of the swift brook.”
Shak.
“The sea’s extremest borders.”
Addison.

Ex-treme′

,
Noun.
1.
The utmost point or verge; that part which terminates a body; extremity.
2.
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.
His parsimony went to the
extreme
of meanness.
Bancroft.
3.
An extreme state or condition; hence, calamity, danger, distress, etc.
“Resolute in most extremes.”
Shak.
4.
(Logic)
Either of the extreme terms of a syllogism, the middle term being interposed between them.
5.
(Math.)
The first or the last term of a proportion or series.
In the extreme
as much as possible.
“The position of the Port was difficult in the extreme.”
J. P. Peters.

Webster 1828 Edition


Extreme

EXTRE'ME

,
Adj.
[L. extremus, last.] Outermost; utmost; farthest; at the utmost point, edge or border; as the extreme verge or point of a thing.
1.
Greatest; most violent; utmost; as extreme pain, grief, or suffering; extreme joy or pleasure.
2.
Last; beyond which there is none; as an extreme remedy.
3.
Utmost; worst or best that can exist or be supposed; as an extreme case.
4.
Most pressing; as extreme necessity.
Extreme unction, among the Romanists, is the anointing of a sick person with oil, when decrepit with age or affected with some mortal disease, and usually just before death. It is applied to the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, hands, feet and reins of penitents, and is supposed to represent the grace of God poured into the soul.
Extreme and mean proportion, in geometry, is when a line is so divided, that the whole line is to the greater segment, as the segment is to the less; or when a line is so divided, that the rectangle under the whole line and the lesser segment is equal to the square of the greater segment.

EXTRE'ME

,
Noun.
The utmost point or verge of a thing; that part which terminates a body; extremity.
1.
Utmost point; furthest degree; as the extremes of heat and cold; the extremes of virtue and vice. Avoid extremes. Extremes naturally beget each other.
There is a natural progression from the extreme of anarchy to the extreme of tyranny.
2.
In logic, the extremes or extreme terms of a syllogism are the predicate and subject. Thus, 'man is an animal: Peter is a man, therefore Peter is an animal;' the word animal is the greater extreme, and man the medium.
3.
In mathematics, the extremes are the first and last terms of a proportion; as, when three magnitudes are proportional, the rectangle contained by the extremes is equal contained by the extremes is equal to the square of the mean.

Definition 2024


Extreme

Extreme

See also: extreme, extremé, and extrême

German

Noun

Extreme n

  1. plural of Extrem

extreme

extreme

See also: Extreme, extremé, and extrême

English

Adjective

extreme (comparative extremer or more extreme, superlative extremest or most extreme)

  1. Of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost.
    At the extreme edges, the coating is very thin.
  2. In the greatest or highest degree; intense.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 13, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.
    He has an extreme aversion to needles, and avoids visiting the doctor.
  3. Excessive, or far beyond the norm.
    • 2013 March 1, Frank Fish, George Lauder, Not Just Going with the Flow”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, page 114:
      An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.
    His extreme love of model trains showed in the rails that criscrossed his entire home.
  4. Drastic, or of great severity.
    I think the new laws are extreme, but many believe them necessary for national security.
  5. 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.
  6. (archaic) Ultimate, final or last.
    the extreme hour of life

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

extreme (plural extremes)

  1. The greatest or utmost point, degree or condition.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. [] A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes. [] But withal there was a perceptible acumen about the man which was puzzling in the extreme.
  2. Each of the things at opposite ends of a range or scale.
    extremes of temperature
  3. A drastic expedient.
  4. (mathematics) Either of the two numbers at the ends of a proportion, as 1 and 6 in 1:2=3:6.

Translations

Adverb

extreme (comparative more extreme, superlative most extreme)

  1. (archaic) Extremely.
    • 1796 Charles Burney, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Metastasio 2.5:
      In the empty and extreme cold theatre.

Usage notes

  • Formerly used to modify adjectives and sometimes adverbs, but rarely verbs.

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

References


Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

extreme

  1. Inflected form of extreem

German

Adjective

extreme

  1. inflected form of extrem

Ido

Adverb

extreme

  1. extremely

Latin

Noun

extreme

  1. vocative singular of extremus

References

  • EXTREME in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
  • extreme in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Middle French

Adjective

extreme m, f (plural extremes)

  1. extreme

Spanish

Verb

extreme

  1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of extremar.
  2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of extremar.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of extremar.

Swedish

Adjective

extreme

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of extrem.