Word of the Day: Extreme

ex-treme / ikˈstrēm

 

adjective

 

1. of a character farthest removed from the average

Some people seem to have extreme natural wiring – a talent that seems to come out of nowhere.

Kevin Maney, 1960-

 

2. existing in a high degree

Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.

Kofi Annan, 1938-2018

 

3. farthest from the center; outermost

There should be balance in all our actions; to be either extreme or lukewarm is equally bad.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, 1882-1927

 

4. maximum

The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering.

Dalai Lama, 1935-

 

5. of, relating to or being an outdoor activity which involves high levels of danger or risk

I think extreme sports are really good for relieving stress.

Dave Chappelle, 1973-

 

6. going to great lengths in action, opinion, etc.

All empty souls tend to extreme opinion. It is only in those who have built up a rich world of memories and habits of thought that extreme opinions affront the sense of probability.

William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939

 

noun

 

1. something marking one end of a range or scale

Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.

Aristotle, 384 BC-322 BC

 

2. a measure involving a great amount of risk or highest level of something

Art must be unaesthetic in the extreme, useless and impossible to justify.

Francis Picabia, 1879-1953

 

3. an excessive length; far beyond the average

Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance.

Jon Franklin, 1943-