- perpendicular; very steep: a sheer cliff
- (of textiles) so fine as to be transparent
- (prenominal) absolute; unmitigated: sheer folly
- obsolete bright or shining
- steeply or perpendicularly
- completely or absolutely
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sheer1 /ʃɪr/USA pronunciation
adj., -er, -est, adv., n.
adj.
adv.
n. [countable]
sheer2 /ʃɪr/USA pronunciation v.
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026adj.
- so thin as to be transparent:sheer stockings.
- unmixed with anything else:[before a noun]sheer luck; sheer nonsense.
- extending down or up very steeply:a sheer descent.
adv.
- completely;
quite:He drove sheer off the road. - vertically;
down or up very steeply:cliffs rising sheer from the sea.
n. [countable]
- Textilesa thin, nearly transparent fabric or garment.
sheer2 /ʃɪr/USA pronunciation v.
- to move away from a course;
deviate: [no object]The jet fighters sheered to the south.[~ + object]The pilot sheered the jet fighter to the south.
n. [countable]
- Nautical, Naval Termsan act of moving away from or changing a direction or course.
sheer1
(shēr),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est, adv., n.
adj.
adv.
n.
sheer′ly, adv.
sheer′ness, n.
sheer2 (shēr),USA pronunciation v.i.
v.t.
n.
adj.
- transparently thin;
diaphanous, as some fabrics:sheer stockings. - unmixed with anything else:We drilled a hundred feet through sheer rock.
- unqualified;
utter:sheer nonsense. - extending down or up very steeply;
almost completely vertical:a sheer descent of rock. - British Termsbright;
shining.
adv.
- clear;
completely;
quite:ran sheer into the thick of battle. - perpendicularly;
vertically;
down or up very steeply.
n.
- Textilesa thin, diaphanous material, as chiffon or voile.
- Old Norse skǣrr; change of sk-
s(c)h- perh. by influence of the related Old English scīr (English dialect, dialectal 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
sheer′ness, n.
- 2. mere, simple, pure, unadulterated. 3. absolute, downright. 4. abrupt, precipitous. 6. totally, entirely.
- 1. opaque.
sheer2 (shēr),USA pronunciation v.i.
- to deviate from a course, as a ship;
swerve.
v.t.
- to cause to sheer.
- Nautical, Naval Terms[Shipbuilding.]to give sheer to (a hull).
n.
- Nautical, Naval Termsa deviation or divergence, as of a ship from its course;
swerve. - Nautical, Naval Terms[Shipbuilding.]the fore-and-aft upward curve of the hull of a vessel at the main deck or bulwarks.
- Nautical, Naval Termsthe position in which a ship at anchor is placed to keep it clear of the anchor.
- 1620–30; special use of sheer1; compare sense development of clear
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
sheer /ʃɪə/ adj
sheer /ʃɪə/ vb
followed by off or away (from):
followed by off or away (from):
- to deviate or cause to deviate from a course
- (intransitive) to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc
- the position of a vessel relative to its mooring
'sheer' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
drop
- krans
- main
- pillar
- precipice
- tiffany
- tutu
- Yosemite National Park
- absolute
- ascribe
- barege
- barong tagalog
- baseline
- batiste
- binding strake
- bis
- body plan
- break
- breath
- cage
- camisole
- casement cloth
- chiffon
- deceit
- default
- diaphanous
- Georgette
- get
- gunwale
- half-breadth plan
- hog
- landing strake
- lawn
- lunacy
- madness
- negligee
- nylon
- organza
- palm
- peekaboo
- piña cloth
- plain
- precipitous
- profile plan
- pure
- range
- rank
- torture
- transparent
- triple voile