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View synonyms for

sheer

1

[ sheer ]

adjective

sheerer, sheerest.
  1. transparently thin; diaphanous, as some fabrics:

    sheer silk.

    Antonyms:

  2. unmixed with anything else:

    We drilled a hundred feet through sheer rock.

    Synonyms: , , ,

  3. sheer nonsense.

    Synonyms: ,

  4. extending down or up very steeply; almost completely vertical:

    a sheer descent of rock.

    Synonyms: ,

  5. British Obsolete. bright; shining.


adverb

  1. ran sheer into the thick of battle.

    Synonyms: ,

  2. perpendicularly; vertically; down or up very steeply.

noun

  1. a thin, diaphanous material, as chiffon or voile.

sheer

2

[ sheer ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to deviate from a course, as a ship; swerve.

verb (used with object)

  1. to cause to sheer.
  2. Shipbuilding. to give sheer to (a hull).

noun

  1. a deviation or divergence, as of a ship from its course; swerve.
  2. Shipbuilding. the fore-and-aft upward curve of the hull of a vessel at the main deck or bulwarks.
  3. Nautical. the position in which a ship at anchor is placed to keep it clear of the anchor.

sheer

1

/ ʃɪə /

adjective

  1. perpendicular; very steep

    a sheer cliff

  2. (of textiles) so fine as to be transparent
  3. prenominal absolute; unmitigated

    sheer folly

  4. obsolete.
    bright or shining
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. steeply or perpendicularly
  2. completely or absolutely
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. any transparent fabric used for making garments
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sheer

2

/ ʃɪə /

verb

  1. to deviate or cause to deviate from a course
  2. intr to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the upward sweep of the deck or bulwarks of a vessel
  2. nautical the position of a vessel relative to its mooring
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈԱ, noun
  • ˈ, adverb
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Other yvlog Forms

  • l adverb
  • n noun
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of sheer1

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English scere, shere, schere “free, clear, bright, thin”; probably from Old Norse ǣ; change of sk- from s(c)h- perhaps by influence of the related Old English ī ( English dialect shire “clear, pure, thin”); cognate with German schier, Old Norse ī, Gothic skeirs “c𲹰”

Origin of sheer2

First recorded in 1620–30; of uncertain origin; perhaps a special use of sheer 1
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of sheer1

Old English ī; related to Old Norse ī bright, Gothic skeirs clear, Middle High German ī

Origin of sheer2

C17: perhaps variant of shear
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Not only because of especially bright satellites, but just because of their sheer numbers.

From

And like him, they are operating with sheer ignorance about how it works and why it was brought into existence in the first place.

From

Like other parts of Myanmar affected by the quake, the community is struggling to deal with the sheer number of bodies.

From

This wild and impolitic work startled civilized Parisian salons with what sounded like sheer ugliness.

From

The computer systems of 23andMe have been struggling to cope with the sheer volume of customers racing to delete their data, after the DNA-testing company announced that it was filing for bankruptcy protection.

From

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