sheer
1transparently thin; diaphanous, as some fabrics: sheer silk.
unmixed with anything else: We drilled a hundred feet through sheer rock.
unqualified; utter: sheer nonsense.
extending down or up very steeply; almost completely vertical: a sheer descent of rock.
British Obsolete. bright; shining.
clear; completely; clean: ran sheer into the thick of battle.
perpendicularly; vertically; down or up very steeply.
a thin, diaphanous material, as chiffon or voile.
Origin of sheer
1Other words for sheer
Opposites for sheer
Other words from sheer
- sheerly, adverb
- sheerness, noun
Words that may be confused with sheer
- shear, sheer
Words Nearby sheer
Other definitions for sheer (2 of 2)
to deviate from a course, as a ship; swerve.
to cause to sheer.
Shipbuilding. to give sheer to (a hull).
a deviation or divergence, as of a ship from its course; swerve.
Shipbuilding. the fore-and-aft upward curve of the hull of a vessel at the main deck or bulwarks.
Nautical. the position in which a ship at anchor is placed to keep it clear of the anchor.
Origin of sheer
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use sheer in a sentence
Choi In-shik, the secretary-general of a right-wing group organizing more rallies for next month, said it was a “sheer lie” for officials to blame the virus outbreak on the protests.
South Korea’s Religious Right Torpedoes the Fight Against COVID-19 | Fiona Zublin | September 24, 2020 | OzyStill, the sheer number of plausible Democratic pickup opportunities is surprising — and favorable for the party — given that the conventional wisdom in 2019 was that Democrats might have trouble finding enough targets to take the Senate.
Democrats Are Slight Favorites To Take Back The Senate | Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com) | September 18, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightOn the one hand, the sheer number of uncertainties unique to 2020 indicate the possibility of a volatile election, but on the other hand, there are also a number of measures that signal lower uncertainty, like a very stable polling average.
How FiveThirtyEight’s 2020 Presidential Forecast Works — And What’s Different Because Of COVID-19 | Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 12, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightOne other reason for zero-click search’s increased prevalence is the sheer number of resources and tools that Google has at its disposal.
How to adapt SEO strategies for the zero-click search landscape | Edward Coram James | June 8, 2020 | Search Engine WatchAnother nifty reconstruction video made by Colonia Ostiensis, also captures the sheer scale of this ancient harbor city, which possibly reached its peak population of around 50,000 by 2nd century AD, at the apical stage of the Roman Empire.
Ostia Antica: Reconstruction and History of The Harbor City of Ancient Rome | Dattatreya Mandal | April 14, 2020 | Realm of History
Actors can inhabit the person through the sheer force of their assimilation.
We still retain the 27 November habit, through sheer gluttony more than anything else.
The Met is noteworthy not only for its house size, however, but for the sheer volume of its season.
Even Godzilla, the ugliest star attraction of them all, is bigger than ever, both at the box office and in sheer monstrous height.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World? | Ted Gioia | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe next 10 times after that, the sheer repetition made it funny again, like the famous Simpsons rake joke.
Rage Against GamerGate’s Hate Machine: What I Got For Speaking Up | Arthur Chu | November 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut the sheer quantity of the inflated currency and false money forces prices higher still.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockIn sheer nervousness, Hilda also dropped to her knees on the hearthrug, and began to worry the fire with the poker.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold BennettThere is no other way but fresh blood for it is sheer human nature to feel flat after an effort.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonA fifth by the sheer hazard of a lucky "deal" acquires a fortune without work at all.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockBy one bold charge they must have crushed the defenders, if by sheer weight of numbers alone.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
British Dictionary definitions for sheer (1 of 2)
/ (ʃɪə) /
perpendicular; very steep: a sheer cliff
(of textiles) so fine as to be transparent
(prenominal) absolute; unmitigated: sheer folly
obsolete bright or shining
steeply or perpendicularly
completely or absolutely
any transparent fabric used for making garments
Origin of sheer
1Derived forms of sheer
- sheerly, adverb
- sheerness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for sheer (2 of 2)
/ (ʃɪə) /
to deviate or cause to deviate from a course
(intr) to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc
the upward sweep of the deck or bulwarks of a vessel
nautical the position of a vessel relative to its mooring
Origin of sheer
2Collins 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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