Adjective: Very great in degree, far beyond what is usual or moderate. Noun: Either end of a scale or range, or a very strong or serious form of something.
From Latin *extremus* ‘outermost, utmost’, superlative of *exter* ‘outside’. It originally pointed to the furthest point or edge.
Extreme is about the edges of possibility—temperature, sports, opinions—all pushed to the outer limit. When someone ‘goes to extremes,’ they’re not just intense; they’re living at the very edge of the scale where things start to break.
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