in extremis

prepositional phrase

At the point of death.

OriginLatin in extrēmīs ← ['la ', →
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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. At the point of death.

    Military records describing the deaths of men as a result of injuries sustained during combat employed the phrase in a (now near-obsolete) sense to describe a man on the verge of dying: […] 'He was in extremis when seen and died about 2 hours after the action ceased at 9 pm'.

    2018 December 13, Edmund Richardson, Classics in Extremis: The Edges of Classical Reception, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 116
  2. broadlyIn desperate circumstances.

    There was a reason we would call up the Reserves only in extremis.

    2016 February 9, Christopher Holshek, Travels with Harley: Journeys in Search of Personal and National Identity, Inkshares, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    The purpose, of course, was to find out if the prisoner, in extremis, broke down and wrote to a family in Israel.

    2001 [1990], Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 410

    This book sets out to look at what we have termed 'social work in extremis'. It is an attempt to bring together a number of case studies that look at social work responses in 'extreme' or crisis situations.

    2011, Michael Lavalette, Vasilios Ioakimidis, Social Work in Extremis: Lessons for Social Work Internationally, Policy Press, →ISBN, page 1

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
at death's door

Origin

  1. ['la',
  2. Latinin extrēmīs
  3. Englishin extremis

Borrowed from Latin in extrēmīs.

More words from Latin, ['la

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish henkitoreissa, henkihieverissä
  • henkitoreissaat the point of death
  • henkihieverissäat the point of death
  • hätätapauksessain desperate circumstances
Māori whakahemohemo
  • whakahemohemoat the point of death
Polish in extremis, in extremis
  • in extremisat the point of death
  • in extremisin desperate circumstances
Portuguese in extremis, in extremis
  • in extremisat the point of death
  • in extremisin desperate circumstances
Cite this entry
APA

in extremis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20extremis

MLA

“in extremis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20extremis. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in extremis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20extremis.

Source: in extremis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.