English Reference
Noun

extremism

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced US /ˌɛkˈstɹɛmɪzəm/ UK /ɛkstɹˈiːmɪzəm/ ex·trem·ism

n.the belief in very strong or radical ideas, especially in politics or religion. People who follow this often reject moderate views and may support extreme actions to reach their goals.

n.the holding of extreme political or religious views; fanaticism. Refers to ideologies that sit far outside the societal mainstream and often advocate for radical change through non-democratic means.


SIMPLE

The government is working to prevent political extremism.

CONTEXTUAL

The rise of online extremism has led many social media platforms to update their content moderation policies.

COMPLEX

Scholars often distinguish between cognitive extremism, which involves holding radical beliefs, and behavioral extremism, which involves the actual use of violence to achieve ideological objectives.

Usage

Uncountable in its general sense; often paired with the prepositions 'in' or 'of'.

Across every single form of extremism we measured, the strongest predictor wasn't political ideology, religion, ethnicity or how much time someone spent online.

Phys.org· 17 Aug 2026

The first-of-its-kind Australian study surveyed 1,122 young people ages 13–17 and 2,307 adults to compare attitudes toward women, gender equality, online influences and violent extremism.

Phys.org· 17 Aug 2026

From extreme + -ism.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated