Meaning & use
two extremes
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Meanings
phraseplural
The two opposite ends of a range, scale, or set of possibilities.
Grammar: Takes a plural verb: 'The two extremes are...'; often followed by 'of'.
Patterns
- the two extremes of something
- represent the two extremes
- at the two extremes
Her two favorite styles are the two extremes of fashion: very formal and very casual.
The two extremes of the debate are complete freedom and total control.
Prices range between the two extremes of ten dollars and five hundred dollars.
phraseplural
Two people or things that are as different from each other as possible.
Grammar: Used to compare two things that seem totally opposed; often with 'are' or 'could not be more different'.
Patterns
- be two extremes
- two extremes of personality
- go from one extreme to the other
My brother and I are two extremes: he loves crowds and I hate them.
The two sisters are two extremes in personality, yet they get along well.
Their opinions on money are two extremes, so they argue often.
Common combinations
- the two extremes of the spectrum
- Voters at the two extremes of the spectrum rarely agree on anything.
- represent two extremes
- These two designs represent two extremes of modern architecture.
- fall between two extremes
- Most people's habits fall between two extremes: total laziness and constant exercise.
- two extremes of opinion
- The two extremes of opinion made a compromise difficult.
Synonyms and how they differ
- opposite ends
- Very close in meaning; 'opposite ends' is more physical or spatial, while 'two extremes' often suggests a scale or range.
- polar opposites
- Stronger and more emphatic; it stresses complete difference, whereas 'two extremes' simply marks the ends of a range.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: two extremes or two extremes?
two extremes vs two extremes
Not to be confused with 'in the extreme', which means 'to an extreme degree' and is an adverbial phrase.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'two extremes' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Two extremes' names the opposite ends of a range, so 'two extremes of weather' fits. Option 2 wrongly uses it before a noun, option 3 uses it as an adverb, and option 4 uses a singular verb with a plural phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “two extremes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.