as in excessiveness
belief in and support for ideas that are very far from what most people consider correct or reasonable
political extremism
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Recent Examples of extremism
And security analysts fear that other assaults on the Jewish community have or may yet come from other individuals radicalized by Middle Eastern extremism.
—
Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Locally and nationally, youth involvement in nihilistic violent extremism has accelerated since the COVID pandemic, data shows.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Authorities said Hasan was motivated by Islamic extremism and opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 13 Mar. 2026
But by far, right-wing extremism drove the most antisemitic crimes, a total of 3,016.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extremism
Joshua M. Davidson, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Locally and nationally, youth involvement in nihilistic violent extremism has accelerated since the COVID pandemic, data shows.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Authorities said Hasan was motivated by Islamic extremism and opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 13 Mar. 2026
But by far, right-wing extremism drove the most antisemitic crimes, a total of 3,016.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extremism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extremism
Noun
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Revelry Reformed Already in the Middle Ages, there existed conflict between those who partook in carnival’s excesses for a higher, spiritual purpose, and those who enjoyed themselves for enjoyment’s sake.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Apr. 2026
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Pre-portioning baskets from the start, setting a one-treat-per-day rule after Easter morning and donating or freezing the excess are the strategies parents are actually using.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But that distinction would have made little sense to seventeenth-century women, whose religious radicalism led them to make vehement political critiques of their own society.—
Chandler Fritz,
The New York Review of Books,
21 Mar. 2026
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The challenge of Islamic terrorism in America is that, just like the homegrown terrorism of white supremacists, the radicalism is often diffuse.—
Juliette Kayyem,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But this often requires accepting the fundamental irrationality of the wrapping-up process.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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The irrationality of politicians suddenly makes sense.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Extremism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extremism. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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