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sheer
1[ sheer ]
adjective
- transparently thin; diaphanous, as some fabrics:
sheer silk.
Antonyms: opaque
- unmixed with anything else:
We drilled a hundred feet through sheer rock.
Synonyms: unadulterated, pure, simple, mere
sheer nonsense.
- extending down or up very steeply; almost completely vertical:
a sheer descent of rock.
Synonyms: precipitous, abrupt
- British Obsolete. bright; shining.
adverb
noun
- a thin, diaphanous material, as chiffon or voile.
sheer
2[ sheer ]
verb (used without object)
- to deviate from a course, as a ship; swerve.
verb (used with object)
- to cause to sheer.
- Shipbuilding. to give sheer to (a hull).
noun
- 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.
sheer
1/ ʃɪə /
adjective
- perpendicular; very steep
a sheer cliff
- (of textiles) so fine as to be transparent
- prenominal absolute; unmitigated
sheer folly
- obsolete.bright or shining
adverb
- steeply or perpendicularly
- completely or absolutely
noun
- any transparent fabric used for making garments
sheer
2/ ʃɪə /
verb
- to deviate or cause to deviate from a course
- intr to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc
noun
- the upward sweep of the deck or bulwarks of a vessel
- nautical the position of a vessel relative to its mooring
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Derived Forms
- ˈsheerness, noun
- ˈsheerly, adverb
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Other Words From
- sheerly adverb
- sheerness noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of sheer1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of sheer1
Origin of sheer2
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Example Sentences
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.
The next 10 times after that, the sheer repetition made it funny again, like the famous Simpsons rake joke.
But the sheer quantity of the inflated currency and false money forces prices higher still.
In sheer nervousness, Hilda also dropped to her knees on the hearthrug, and began to worry the fire with the poker.
There is no other way but fresh blood for it is sheer human nature to feel flat after an effort.
A fifth by the sheer hazard of a lucky "deal" acquires a fortune without work at all.
By one bold charge they must have crushed the defenders, if by sheer weight of numbers alone.
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