extreme

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Most remote in any direction; outermost or farthest: the extreme edge of the field.
2. adj. Being in or attaining the greatest or highest degree; very intense: extreme pleasure; extreme pain.
3. adj. Extending far beyond the norm: an extreme conservative. See Synonyms at excessive.
4. adj. Of the greatest severity; drastic: took extreme measures to conserve fuel.
5. adj. Biology Characterized by severe, usually oxygen-poor environmental conditions.
6. adj. Biology Having an affinity for such conditions: an extreme microorganism.
7. adj. Sports Very dangerous or difficult: extreme rafting.
8. adj. Sports Participating or tending to participate in a very dangerous or difficult sport: an extreme skier.
9. adj. Archaic Final; last.
10. n. The greatest or utmost degree or point.
11. n. Either of the two things situated at opposite ends of a range: the extremes of boiling and freezing.
12. n. An extreme condition.
13. n. An immoderate, drastic expedient: resorted to extremes in the emergency.
14. n. Mathematics The first or last term of a ratio or a series.
15. n. Mathematics A maximum or minimum value of a function.
16. n. Logic The major or minor term of a syllogism.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Outermost; situated at the utmost limit, point, or border; furthest of all; largest or smallest or last: as, the extreme verge or edge of a roof or a precipice; the extreme limit or hour of life. [Although the word is superlative in itself, the superlative suffix is sometimes added for emphasis: as, “the extremest shore,” Southey.]
2. Utmost or greatest in degree; the most, greatest, best, or worst that can exist or be supposed; such as cannot be exceeded: as, extreme pain or grief; extreme joy or pleasure; an extreme case.
3. Exacting or severe to the utmost.
4. In music, superfluous or augmented: thus, the extreme sharp sixth is the augmented sixth.
5. Synonyms Uttermost, most distant, most remote, terminal.
6. Final, ultimate, utter.
7. n. The utmost point or verge of a thing; that part which terminates a body; an extremity; the end or one of the ends, especially of correlated parts, of a body.
8. n. The utmost limit or degree that can be supposed or tolerated; either of two states, qualities, or feelings as different from each other as possible; the highest or the lowest degree: as, the extremes of heat and cold; avoid extremes.
9. n. Extremity; utmost need or distress.
10. n. In logic, the subject or the predicate of a categorical proposition; specifically, the subject or the predicate of the conclusion of a syllogism; either of two terms which are separated in the premises and brought together in the conclusion. The major extreme is the predicate of the conclusion; the minor extreme, the subject of the conclusion. The major is also called the first extreme; the minor, the second extreme.
11. n. In mathematics: Either of the first and last terms of a proportion, or of any other related sequence or series of terms: as, when three magnitudes are proportional, the rectangle contained by the extremes is equal to the square of the mean.
12. n. The largest or the smallest of three or more magnitudes.
13. n. Any part of a right-angled or quadrantal spherical triangle other than the part assumed as mean. The two extremes nearest the mean are called the conjunct extremes, the other two the disjunct extremes.
14. n. Synonyms See extremity.
15. Extremely; excessively; exceedingly.

Wiktionary

1. adj. Of a place, the most remote, farthest or outermost.
2. adj. In the greatest or highest degree; intense.
3. adj. Excessive, or far beyond the norm.
4. adj. Drastic, or of great severity.
5. adj. Of sports, difficult or dangerous; performed in a hazardous environment.
6. adj. archaic Ultimate, final or last.
7. n. The greatest or utmost point, degree or condition.
8. n. Each of the things at opposite ends of a range or scale.
9. n. A drastic expedient.
10. n. mathematics Either of the two numbers at the ends of a proportion, as 1 and 6 in 1:2=3:6.
11. adv. archaic Extremely.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. At the utmost point, edge, or border; outermost; utmost; farthest; most remote; at the widest limit.
2. adj. Last; final; conclusive; -- said of time.
3. adj. The best of worst; most urgent; greatest; highest; immoderate; excessive; most violent
4. adj. Radical; ultra.
5. adj. (Mus.) Extended or contracted as much as possible; -- said of intervals
6. n. The utmost point or verge; that part which terminates a body; extremity.
7. n. 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.
8. n. An extreme state or condition; hence, calamity, danger, distress, etc.
9. n. (Logic) Either of the extreme terms of a syllogism, the middle term being interposed between them.
10. n. (Math.) The first or the last term of a proportion or series.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. beyond a norm in views or actions
2. adj. of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
3. adj. most distant in any direction
4. n. the furthest or highest degree of something
5. adj. far beyond a norm in quantity or amount or degree; to an utmost degree
6. n. the point located farthest from the middle of something