extreme

1 /Ik'stri:m/ adjective

1 (only before noun) very great in degree: Extreme poverty still exists in many rural areas.

2 extreme south/point/end/limit etc the extreme south etc is the place furthest towards the south etc

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

4 very unusual and severe: Her ideas about raising kids have always been a little extreme. | extreme example/case: Social workers were horrified by this extreme case of cruelty.

2 noun (C)

1 something that goes beyond normal limits, so that it seems very unusual and unacceptable: We had every extreme of weather that weekend - gales, snow, and sunshine. | be driven to extremes: Driven to extremes by the rioting, the government imposed a six pm curfew. | go to extremes/take sth to extremes (=behave in a way that goes beyond normal limits, especially in order to achieve something) | go to the opposite extreme/go from one extreme to the other (=change from being extreme in one way to being extreme in a completely different way)

2 in the extreme to a very great degree: My great-aunt had been generous in the extreme over the years.