Sheer (textile)
WordNet
adjective
(1) 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"
(2) Not mixed with extraneous elements
"Plain water"
"Sheer wine"
"Not an unmixed blessing"
(3) 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"
adverb
(4) Directly
"He fell sheer into the water"
(5) Straight up or down without a break
verb
(6) Cause to sheer
"She sheered her car around the obstacle"
(7) Turn sharply; change direction abruptly
"The car cut to the left at the intersection"
"The motorbike veered to the right"
WiktionaryText
Etymology 1
From , cognate with Danish , German , Gothic .
Adjective
- Very thin or transparent.
- Her light, sheer dress caught everyone's attention.
- Pure; unmixed; being only what it seems to be.
- I think it is sheer genius to invent such a thing.
- This poem is sheer nonsense.
- Straight up and down; vertical; perpendicular.
- It was a sheer drop of 180 feet.
Synonyms
: diaphanous, see-through, thin: downright, mere, pure, undiluted, unmitigated: perpendicular, steep, verticalNoun
- The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern.
- An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship.