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sheer - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'sheer' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Sheer [ adv.]
- Clean; quite; at once.
2 . Sheer [ n.]
- The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck, gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from the side.
- The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and swinging clear of it.
- A turn or change in a course.
- Shears See Shear.
3 . Sheer [ v. i.]
- Bright; clear; pure; unmixed.
- Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer muslin.
- Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere; downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense.
- Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular.
- 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.
4 . Sheer [ v. t.]
- To shear.

Meaning of 'sheer' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . sheer [ v]
Meaning (1):
- cause to sheer
Example in sentence:
  • She sheered her car around the obstacle
Meaning (2):
- turn sharply; change direction abruptly
Example in sentence:
  • The car cut to the left at the intersection;
  • The motorbike veered to the right
3 . sheer [ r]
Meaning (3):
- directly
Example in sentence:
  • he fell sheer into the water;
  • he ran bang into the pole;
  • ran slap into her;
  • we must talk man-to-man
4 . sheer [ s]
Meaning (4):
- very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
Example in sentence:
  • a bluff headland;
  • a sheer descent of rock;
  • where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise
Meaning (5):
- complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
Example in sentence:
  • a downright lie;
  • a rank outsider;
  • absolute freedom;
  • an absolute dimwit;
  • an out-and-out lie;
  • got the job through sheer persistence;
  • many right-down vices;
  • out-and-out mayhem;
  • sheer stupidity
Meaning (6):
- so thin as to transmit light
Example in sentence:
  • 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
Meaning (7):
- not mixed with extraneous elements
Example in sentence:
  • not an unmixed blessing;
  • plain water;
  • sheer wine

Nearby Words:

she shea tree sheading sheaf sheafy sheal shealing shear shearbill sheard

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