# sheer

Pronunciation: say "SHEER" US /ʃɪɚ/, UK /ˈʃɪə/

## Adjective

1. Used before a noun to emphasize the great amount or degree of something.
   - Simple: Used before a noun to show that an amount or feeling is very great.
   - _The sheer volume of paperwork delayed the whole project._
   - _He climbed the last stretch on sheer determination alone._
2. Very steep, rising or falling almost vertically.
   - Simple: So steep that it drops or rises almost straight up and down.
   - _The waterfall plunged over a sheer rock wall into the gorge._
   - _Hikers roped up before traversing the sheer face above the valley._
3. Of a fabric, very thin and almost transparent.
   - Simple: So thin you can almost see through it, used about cloth.
   - _The dress had sheer sleeves that revealed the arms beneath._
   - _Designers favored sheer fabrics throughout the summer collection._
4. Downright and complete; utter and unmixed with anything else.
   - Simple: Complete and total, with nothing else mixed in.
   - _His account of the night was sheer fabrication from start to finish._
   - _Catching the last train was sheer luck._

## Noun

5. A thin, transparent curtain or length of fabric.
   - Simple: A thin curtain or piece of cloth you can see through.
   - _A pale sheer drifted in the breeze from the open window._
   - _The decorator layered linen sheers behind the velvet curtains._
6. The upward curve of a ship's main deck or gunwale, running from bow to stern.
   - Simple: The gentle upward curve of a ship's deck from front to back.
   - _The designer increased the sheer to keep the bow dry in heavy seas._
   - _Traditional dories show a strong sheer from stem to stern._
7. A sudden swerve of a ship away from its course.
   - Simple: A sudden sideways turn a ship makes off its path.
   - _The ship's sheer at anchor swung her broadside to the tide._
   - _An unexpected sheer sent the dinghy off toward the buoy._

## Verb

8. To swerve away from a set course, as a ship.
   - Simple: To turn suddenly away from a straight path, as a ship does.
   - _The ship sheered violently as the gust struck her beam._
   - _Heavy vessels sheer at anchor when wind and tide oppose each other._

## Adjective

9. Pure in composition; unmixed and unadulterated. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Made of one thing only, with nothing mixed in.
   - _The assayer prized the sheer silver above any blended bar._
   - _Only sheer honey, with no added syrup, would satisfy the old apothecary._

## Adverb

10. Completely; cleanly; all at once. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Completely and all at once.
   - _The gale ripped the sail sheer from its rigging._
   - _The runaway cart plunged sheer into the river below._

## Verb

11. Obsolete spelling of shear. *(obsolete)* — Obsolete spelling of shear.
   - Simple: Obsolete spelling of shear. An old way of writing the word that means to cut wool or hair from an animal.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 9–10** — From Middle English shere, from Old English scǣre ('pure, sheer; shining, clear'), from Proto-Germanic *skairiz. It largely replaced the related shire (from Old English scīr, 'clear, bright, pure'), both tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'luster, gloss'. It is cognate with German schier and Dutch schier.
**Meanings 6–8, 11** — Perhaps from Dutch scheren ('to move aside, skim'); compare also shear.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sheer (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).