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The intended meaning is "extremely strong power", but is it acceptable to omit "strong"?

Extreme means something akin to "at the very end of xxx", and power means "ability to do or act".

So, would saying "extreme power" mean "very strong power", or "weak OR strong power", or is it even grammatically correct?

For context: "He had extreme power, being able to punch that tree down."

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  • It's going to depend on your context. For example:- (1) only strong power structures have two extreme power levels, only they have "high power positions" and "low power positions." goo.gl/GtL6ba and (2) 'the case of a drug company which allegedly exercises the most extreme power - of life and death - over members of the public by marketing a dangerous drug.' goo.gl/aGxpfM Nov 5, 2015 at 16:18

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To my ears, the phrase "extreme power" is not normally used to connote physical strength.

I think most native speakers would say one of the following:

He was very strong...

or

He had incredible/great/unimaginable/etc. strength...

In some circumstances, you might be able to get away with saying "He was extremely powerful", but that generally references a superhuman (i.e., comic book) strength.

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He had extreme power, being able to punch that tree down.

Your example is correct usage of the phrase extreme power.

It does not carry the connotation of weak as you ask in your question.

Generally speaking, nouns that have an intensive quality usually strong is usually implied when using the extreme intensifier. If you mean extremely weak, you usually have to explicitly state weak when using the extreme modifier.

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