in extremis
adverb
in ex·tre·mis ˌin-ik-ˈstrē-məs 
-ˈstrā-
-ˈstrā- : in extreme circumstances
especially : at the point of death
Example Sentences
They are helping a family in extremis.
Recent Examples on the Web Mar-a-Lago investigation smolders indefinitely will not be good for a country already in extremis. 
Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 But the Darién Gap is the global migration story in extremis. Jason Motlagh, Outside Online, 19 July 2016 Thirteen Lives reminds me of Ron Howard's Apollo 13 for its bristly character moments, people caught in extremis. Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2022 It should also be singled out for praise as a great Mother's Day movie: mainly, as a How Not To Parent handbook—in extremis. Callahan Tormey, Town & Country, 8 May 2022 Trump and his enablers have forced us into a politics in extremis, a place where the rule of law is trampled and violence redefines the terrain of struggle to make an authoritarian deviation from the rule of law possible. Jamie Raskin, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022 Scarcity is also context dependent, in a desert, where water is scarce, no amount of gold nor bitcoin can buy water in extremis. Vipin Bharathan, Forbes, 29 Aug. 2021 And that means determining how to help host-nation forces without having to put our troops on the front lines, except in extremis. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2021 For a period of two years, the customary ban was lifted for museums that found themselves in extremis, unable to care for their collections. Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2021 See More
Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2022 But the Darién Gap is the global migration story in extremis. Jason Motlagh, Outside Online, 19 July 2016 Thirteen Lives reminds me of Ron Howard's Apollo 13 for its bristly character moments, people caught in extremis. Joshua Rothkopf, EW.com, 6 Aug. 2022 It should also be singled out for praise as a great Mother's Day movie: mainly, as a How Not To Parent handbook—in extremis. Callahan Tormey, Town & Country, 8 May 2022 Trump and his enablers have forced us into a politics in extremis, a place where the rule of law is trampled and violence redefines the terrain of struggle to make an authoritarian deviation from the rule of law possible. Jamie Raskin, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022 Scarcity is also context dependent, in a desert, where water is scarce, no amount of gold nor bitcoin can buy water in extremis. Vipin Bharathan, Forbes, 29 Aug. 2021 And that means determining how to help host-nation forces without having to put our troops on the front lines, except in extremis. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2021 For a period of two years, the customary ban was lifted for museums that found themselves in extremis, unable to care for their collections. Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin
First Known Use
circa 1530, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
in extremis
adverb
in ex·tre·mis ˌin-ik-ˈstrē-məs -ˈstrā-
-ˈstrā- : at the point of death