What does "sheer" mean?
A sheer curtain or fabric.
Sheer
/ˈʃɪə/ adj, adv, name, noun, verb
adj, adv, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sheer curtain or fabric.
- Grammar: sheer is listed as adj, adv, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: absolute, transparent, aberrancy, aberration.
- Useful contrasts: opaque, gentle, gradual.
- Usage evidence: It was sheer coincidence that Mary and I were on the same train.
How to use "sheer"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sheer" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sheer" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sheer" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sheer" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sheer" is acting as adj, adv, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "absolute" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sheer", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sheer curtain or fabric.
"Use sheers to maximize natural light."
- 2 The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern.
- 3 An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship.
Verb
- 1 To swerve from a course.
"I sheered her well inshore—the water being deepest near the bank, as the sounding–pole informed me."
- 2 cause to sheer wordnet
- 3 Obsolete spelling of shear. alt-of, obsolete
"So thick, our navy scarce could sheer their way"
- 4 turn sharply; change direction abruptly wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Very thin or transparent.
"Her light, sheer dress caught everyone’s attention."
- 2 Pure in composition; unmixed; unadulterated. obsolete
"If she say I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lying’st knave in Christendom."
- 3 Downright; complete; pure. broadly
"I think it is sheer genius to invent such a thing."
- 4 Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something.
"The army's sheer size made it impossible to resist."
- 5 Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular.
"It was a sheer drop of 180 feet."
Adjective
- 1 complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers wordnet
- 2 very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front wordnet
- 3 not mixed with extraneous elements wordnet
- 4 so thin as to transmit light wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Clean; completely; at once. archaic
"Hector the ashen lance of Ajax smote / With his broad faulchion, at the nether end, / And lopp’d it sheer."
Adverb
- 1 completely and at once wordnet
- 2 straight up or down without a break wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"It was sheer coincidence that Mary and I were on the same train."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sheer"?
Common synonyms include: absolute, transparent, aberrancy, aberration, abject, about ship.
How do you use "sheer" in a sentence?
It was sheer coincidence that Mary and I were on the same train.
How do you pronounce "sheer"?
Pronounced /ˈʃɪə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English shere, scheere, schere, skere, from Old English sċǣre (“pure, sheer; shining, clear”), from Proto-Germanic *skairiz; supplanted the semantically close shire (dialectal), from Middle English schyre, schire, shire, shir, from Old English sċīr (“clear, bright; brilliant, gleaming, shining, splendid, resplendent; pure”), beside which existed Middle English skyr, from Old Norse skírr (“pure, bright, clear”), both from Proto-Germanic *skīriz (“pure, sheer”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₁y- (“luster, gloss, shadow”). Cognate with Danish skær, German schier (“sheer”), German Low German schier (“sheer, pure, unadulterated”; “completely, almost”), Dutch schier (“almost”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐍃 (skeirs, “clear, lucid”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Albanian hir (“grace, beauty; goodwill”).
Etymology 2
Perhaps from Dutch scheren (“to move aside, skim”); see also shear.