Extremeness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A quality or state characterized by being at the furthest point of an established range or limit; an intensity that surpasses the ordinary or moderate levels; a trait or condition that embodies the most extreme or radical aspects of a particular characteristic or situation
2. The degree of being extreme, reflecting the utmost or most severe variation from the norm; an intensity that highlights the absolute endpoints of a spectrum; the manifestation of qualities or features in their most pronounced and intense forms
3. A state marked by the highest degree of intensity or divergence from what is typical; the representation of ideas or behaviors that are at the outer edges of acceptability or convention; a condition defined by its radical differences from average expectations or standards

Etymology: "Extremeness" is a plain formation: the adjective "extreme" with the suffix "-ness", which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. The suffix itself is old and native to English. It descends from Old English "-nes", which was attached to adjectives and nouns to form abstract nouns, and it has been productive ever since, so new coinages like this one can be built on almost any adjective. "Extreme" came into English from Latin "extremus", meaning "outermost" or "furthest", the superlative of "exter", "outside". So the word's core idea is literally a position at the outer edge, and "extremeness" names the condition of being at that edge, or in the modern sense, the utmost degree a quality can reach.

Synonyms: severity, intensity, outrageousness, radicalness, excessiveness

Antonyms: moderation, mildness, restraint, normality, balance