transparently thin; diaphanous, as some fabrics: sheer silk.
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.
BritishObsolete. bright; shining.
adverb
clear; completely; clean: ran sheer into the thick of battle.
perpendicularly; vertically; down or up very steeply.
noun
a thin, diaphanous material, as chiffon or voile.
Origin of sheer
1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English scere, shere, schere “free, clear, bright, thin”; probably from Old Norse skǣrr; change of sk- from s(c)h- perhaps by influence of the related Old English scīr (English dialect shire “clear, pure, thin”); cognate with German schier, Old Norse skīr, Gothic skeirs “clear”
Choi In-shik, the secretary-general of a right-wing group organizing more rallies for next month, said it was a “sheer lie” for officials to blame the virus outbreak on the protests.
South Korea’s Religious Right Torpedoes the Fight Against COVID-19|Fiona Zublin|September 24, 2020|Ozy
Still, the sheer number of plausible Democratic pickup opportunities is surprising — and favorable for the party — given that the conventional wisdom in 2019 was that Democrats might have trouble finding enough targets to take the Senate.
Democrats Are Slight Favorites To Take Back The Senate|Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com)|September 18, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
On the one hand, the sheer number of uncertainties unique to 2020 indicate the possibility of a volatile election, but on the other hand, there are also a number of measures that signal lower uncertainty, like a very stable polling average.
How FiveThirtyEight’s 2020 Presidential Forecast Works — And What’s Different Because Of COVID-19|Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 12, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
One other reason for zero-click search’s increased prevalence is the sheer number of resources and tools that Google has at its disposal.
How to adapt SEO strategies for the zero-click search landscape|Edward Coram James|June 8, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Another nifty reconstruction video made by Colonia Ostiensis, also captures the sheer scale of this ancient harbor city, which possibly reached its peak population of around 50,000 by 2nd century AD, at the apical stage of the Roman Empire.
Ostia Antica: Reconstruction and History of The Harbor City of Ancient Rome|Dattatreya Mandal|April 14, 2020|Realm of History
Actors can inhabit the person through the sheer force of their assimilation.
Why Can’t Movies Capture Genius?|Clive Irving|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even Godzilla, the ugliest star attraction of them all, is bigger than ever, both at the box office and in sheer monstrous height.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Met is noteworthy not only for its house size, however, but for the sheer volume of its season.
Inside the Metropolitan Opera’s Insane Year|Shawn E. Milnes|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The next 10 times after that, the sheer repetition made it funny again, like the famous Simpsons rake joke.
Rage Against GamerGate’s Hate Machine: What I Got For Speaking Up|Arthur Chu|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If nothing else, the sheer size of the “religious liberty” movement indicates its seriousness of purpose.
RFRA Madness: What’s Next for Anti-Democratic ‘Religious Exemptions’|Jay Michaelson|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This man, who commanded men and had gained his own way by sheer brain and combativeness, fled by stealth from a dreaded enemy.
Robert Toombs|Pleasant A. Stovall
The uniform equality, imputed to Socialism, is like so many other imputations, sheer nonsense.
Woman and Socialism|August Bebel
But in an instant I came to myself, wrenched back to a clear vision of things by sheer necessity to act.
Secret History Revealed By Lady Peggy O'Malley|C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson
But there was nothing at which she could clutch save—but it was sheer madness.
Under the Witches' Moon|Nathan Gallizier
He will tear your Crocuses—- especially the yellow ones—to tatters out of sheer mischief.
Beautiful Bulbous Plants|John Weathers
British Dictionary definitions for sheer (1 of 2)
sheer1
/ (ʃɪə) /
adjective
perpendicular; very steepa sheer cliff
(of textiles) so fine as to be transparent
(prenominal)absolute; unmitigatedsheer folly
obsoletebright or shining
adverb
steeply or perpendicularly
completely or absolutely
noun
any transparent fabric used for making garments
Derived forms of sheer
sheerly, adverbsheerness, noun
Word Origin for sheer
Old English scīr; related to Old Norse skīrr bright, Gothic skeirs clear, Middle High German schīr
British Dictionary definitions for sheer (2 of 2)
sheer2
/ (ʃɪə) /
verb (foll by off or away ( from ))
to deviate or cause to deviate from a course
(intr)to avoid an unpleasant person, thing, topic, etc
noun
the upward sweep of the deck or bulwarks of a vessel
nauticalthe position of a vessel relative to its mooring