Sheer Definition

shîr
sheered, sheerest, sheering, sheers, sheerer
verb
sheered, sheering, sheers
To swerve or cause to swerve from a course.
American Heritage
To cause to sheer.
Webster's New World
To turn aside sharply from a course; swerve.
Webster's New World
noun
sheers
A swerving or deviating course.
American Heritage
A sudden change of course; abrupt turn; swerve.
Webster's New World
The oblique heading or position of a ship riding at a single bow anchor.
Webster's New World
The upward curve of a ship's deck toward the bow and stern, as seen from the side.
Webster's New World
One that is sheer, such as a curtain.
American Heritage
adjective
sheerest, sheerer
Very thin; transparent; diaphanous.
Webster's New World
Completely such, without qualification or exception.
Sheer stupidity; sheer happiness.
American Heritage
Not mixed or mingled with anything else; pure.
Sheer ice.
Webster's New World
Absolute; downright; unqualified; utter.
Sheer persistence.
Webster's New World
Free from admixture or adulterants; unmixed.
Sheer alcohol.
American Heritage
adverb
Perpendicularly or very steeply.
Webster's New World
Completely; utterly; outright.
Webster's New World

(archaic) Clean; quite; at once.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Sheer

Noun

Singular:
sheer
Plural:
sheers

Adjective

Base Form:
sheer
Comparative:
sheerer
Superlative:
sheerest

Origin of Sheer

  • From Middle English shere, scheere, schere, skere, from Old English *scÇ£re; merged with Middle English shire, schire, schyre, shir, from Old English scÄ«r (“clear, bright; brilliant, gleaming, shining, splendid, resplendent; pure") and Old Norse skírr (“pure, bright, clear"), both from Proto-Germanic *skÄ«riz (“pure, sheer") and *skairiz, from Proto-Indo-European *sḱēy- (“luster, gloss, shadow"). Cognate with Danish skær, German schier (“sheer"), Dutch schier (“almost"), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐍃 (skeirs, “clear, lucid"). Outside Germanic, cognate to Albanian hirrë (“whey, serum").

    From Wiktionary

  • Obsolete shere thin, clear partly from Middle English shir bright, clear (from Old English scīr) and partly from Middle English skir bright, clean (from Old Norse skærr)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Probably partly from Low German scheren to move to and fro (said of boats) and partly from Dutch scheren to withdraw sker-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Perhaps from Dutch scheren (“to move aside, skim"); see also shear.

    From Wiktionary

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