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sheer

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[ US /ˈʃɪɹ/ ]
[ UK /ʃˈi‍ə/ ]
ADJECTIVE
  1. very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
    a sheer descent of rock
    a bluff headland
    where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise
  2. so thin as to transmit light
    sheer silk stockings
    filmy wings of a moth
    gossamer cobwebs
    vaporous silks
    gauzy clouds of dandelion down
    a hat with a diaphanous veil
    transparent chiffon
  3. not mixed with extraneous elements
    sheer wine
    not an unmixed blessing
    plain water
  4. complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
    sheer stupidity
    a downright lie
    got the job through sheer persistence
    out-and-out mayhem
    many right-down vices
    a rank outsider
    absolute freedom
    an absolute dimwit
    an out-and-out lie
ADVERB
  1. directly
    he fell sheer into the water
  2. straight up or down without a break
VERB
  1. cause to sheer
    She sheered her car around the obstacle
  2. turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    The motorbike veered to the right
    The car cut to the left at the intersection
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How To Use sheer In A Sentence

  • The sheer volume is so overwhelming that the police cannot get on top of it. The Sun
  • Among profuse schools of trevallies and barracuda, huge tunas and a host of sharks cruise the sheer wall.
  • In what is called our freer modern life, manners have come to count for a good deal less, which makes sheer manner count for a good deal more. Behavior in Public Places
  • But because Americans are not nearly as fond of dates as they are of coffee, java came out on top due to sheer popularity.
  • The sheer volume is so overwhelming that the police cannot get on top of it. The Sun
  • The suggestion is sheer nonsense.
  • I peered over. There stood Sir Henry doing nothing less than a 11)tribal war dance of sheer unashamed 12)ecstasy.
  • GURWITCH: So you know, I interviewed people that I work with like Tim Allen and Jeff Garland and Ann Miro (ph) and comedians Harry sheerer and Fred Willard. CNN Transcript Jan 26, 2007
  • The micro-mini white cover-up she had donned over her bathing suit was removed without circumstance, revealing a shimmering gold maillot that dipped very low in back and was accented by sheer finely-woven gold mesh across the waistline in front. Who Said It Would Be Easy
  • Although he had not howled once, his snarling and growling, combined with his thirst, had hoarsened his throat and dried the mucous membranes of his mouth so that he was incapable, except under the sheerest provocation, of further sound. CHAPTER XVI
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