sheer

Definition of sheer in English English dictionary: To shear; Very thin or transparent
Her light, sheer dress caught everyone’s attention.; Straight up and down; vertical; perpendicular
It was a sheer drop of 180 feet.; Pure; unmixed; being only what it seems to be
This poem is sheer nonsense.; clean; quite; at once; To swerve from a course; The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern; An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship; absolute; {a} clear, pure, real; {v} to deviate from a course, move sideways; {n} the curve of a ships side or deck lengthways; {a} clean, quick; The curve of the deck or gunwale as viewed from the side; (1) transparent, as in: Women usually wear sheer hosiery in warm weather; The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck, gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from the side; Shears See Shear; Bright; clear; pure; unmixed; {f} swerve, change course suddenly, change direction abruptly; cause to change course quickly, cause to swerve; The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and swinging clear of it; {s} thin and nearly transparent; not combined with anything else; utter, complete; very steep, almost perpendicular; directly; "he fell sheer into the water"; A fine woven semi-transparent fabric; straight up or down without a break; To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a horse sheers at a bicycle; emphasis You can use sheer to emphasize that a state or situation is complete and does not involve or is not mixed with anything else. His music is sheer delight Sheer chance quite often plays an important part in sparking off an idea. = pure; cause to sheer; "She sheered her car around the obstacle"; so thin as to transmit light; "a hat with a diaphanous veil"; "filmy wings of a moth"; "gauzy clouds of dandelion down"; "gossamer cobwebs"; "sheer silk stockings"; "transparent chiffon"; "vaporous silks"; The rise of a ship's deck toward the bow or stern from amidships; not mixed with extraneous elements; "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"; The longitudinal intersection of the hull sides and the deck or, in the case of canoes where there are no decks, line defining the highest points of the hull sides; Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere; downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense; To shear. (rare/archaic?); very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front; "a bluff headland"; "where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise"; "a sheer descent of rock"; Any very light-weight fabric (e g , chiffon, georgette, voile, sheer crepe) Usually has an open weave Sheers mostly feel cool; {i} swerve, sudden change of direction, abrupt change of course; Very thin or transparent; applied to fabrics; as, sheer muslin; Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular; cause to sheer; "She sheered her car around the obstacle" directly; "he fell sheer into the water" straight up or down without a break; turn sharply; change direction abruptly; "The car cut to the left at the intersection"; "The motorbike veered to the right"; Allows light to enter while reducing glare Softly focuses view to outside Return to Top; A sheer cliff or drop is extremely steep or completely vertical. There was a sheer drop just outside my window; A turn or change in a course; complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers; "absolute freedom"; "an absolute dimwit"; "a downright lie"; "out-and-out mayhem"; "an out-and-out lie"; "a rank outsider"; "many right-down vices"; "got the job through sheer persistence"; "sheer stupidity"; Sheer material is very thin, light, and delicate. sheer black tights; completely, totally; very steeply
sheer horror: extreme fear, disastrous
sheer idiocy: complete stupidity
sheer nonsense: total stupidity, illogical information
sheer off: become connected, go away
sheerness: The property of being sheer
sheerness: The result or product of being sheer
sheers: sheerlegs
sheers: Third-person singular simple present indicative form of sheer
sheers: plural form of sheer
adverb sheer 2: straight up or down in an almost vertical line = steeply
sheered: past of sheer
sheering: present participle of sheer
sheerly: At once; absolutely
sheerly: completely, totally; very steeply
sheerness: {i} steepness, abruptness; quality of being thin and nearly transparent (about a fabric)
sheers: third-person singular of sheer
sheers: Variant of shear
sheers: plural of sheer
verb sheer 3: to change direction suddenly, especially in order to avoid something sheer off/away

sheer

Turkish pronunciation

şîr

Synonyms

diaphanous, see-through, thin, downright, mere, pure, undiluted, unmitigated, perpendicular, steep, vertical, arduous, erect, headlong, precipitate

Antonyms

moderate, slow, indefinite, uncertain, heavy, impermeable, thick

Pronunciation

/ˈsʜər/ /ˈʃɪr/

Etymology

[ shir ] (verb.) 1539. From Old Norse skírr (“pure, bright, clear”), cognate with Danish skær, German schier (“sheer”), Dutch schier (“almost”), Gothic