sheerest
adjective
1.
transparently thin; diaphanous, as some fabrics: sheer stockings.
2.
unmixed with anything else: We drilled a hundred feet through sheer rock.
3.
unqualified; utter: sheer nonsense.
4.
extending down or up very steeply; almost completely vertical: a sheer descent of rock.
5.
British Obsolete. bright; shining.
adverb
6.
clear; completely; quite: ran sheer into the thick of battle.
7.
perpendicularly; vertically; down or up very steeply.
00:10
Sheerest
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
noun
8.
a thin, diaphanous material, as chiffon or voile.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English scere, shere, schere free, clear, bright, thin; probably < Old Norse skǣrr; change of sk- > s(c)h- perhaps by influence of the related Old English scīr (E dial. shire clear, pure, thin); cognate with German schier, Old Norse skīr, Gothic skeirs clear; see shine
1175–1225; Middle English scere, shere, schere free, clear, bright, thin; probably < Old Norse skǣrr; change of sk- > s(c)h- perhaps by influence of the related Old English scīr (E dial. shire clear, pure, thin); cognate with German schier, Old Norse skīr, Gothic skeirs clear; see shine
Related forms
sheer·ly, adverb
sheer·ness, noun
Synonyms
2. mere, simple, pure, unadulterated. 3. absolute, downright. 4. abrupt, precipitous. 6. totally, entirely.
2. mere, simple, pure, unadulterated. 3. absolute, downright. 4. abrupt, precipitous. 6. totally, entirely.
Antonyms
1. opaque.
1. opaque.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To sheerest
Collins
World English Dictionary
sheer1 (ʃɪə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 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 |
| —adv | |
| 5. | steeply or perpendicularly |
| 6. | completely or absolutely |
| —n | |
| 7. | any transparent fabric used for making garments |
| [Old English scīr; related to Old Norse skīrr bright, Gothic skeirs clear, Middle High German schīr] | |
| 'sheerly1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'sheerness1 | |
| —n | |
| sheer2 (ʃɪə) | |
| —vb (foll by off | |
| 1. | to deviate or cause to deviate from a course |
| 2. | (intr) to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc |
| —n | |
| 3. | the upward sweep of the deck or bulwarks of a vessel |
| 4. | nautical the position of a vessel relative to its mooring |
| [C17: perhaps variant of | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
sheer
c.1200, "exempt, free from guilt," later schiere "thin, sparse" (c.1400), from O.E. scir "bright, clear," influenced by O.N. cognate scær "bright, clean, pure," from P.Gmc. *skairijaz (cf. O.S. skiri, O.Fris. skire, Ger. schier, Goth. skeirs "clean, pure"), perhaps from PIE base *skai- "to shine"
(see shine). Sense of "absolute, utter" (sheer nonsense) developed 1580s; that of "very steep" (sheer cliff) is first recorded 1800.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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