I. ˈshi(ə)r, -iə adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English schere acquitted, purged of sin or guilt, probably alteration (influenced by Middle English shire, shir bright, pure, unmixed, from Old English scīr ) of skere purged of sin or guilt, unharmed, from Old Norse skærr bright, pure; akin to Old English scīr bright, pure, unmixed, Middle High German schīr, Old Norse skīrr bright, pure, Gothic skeirs clear, Old English scīnan to shine — more at shine
1. obsolete : bright , fair , shining
2. : of very thin or transparent texture : fine and light in weight : diaphanous
sheer woolens
a sheer summer dress
3.
a. : being wholly as indicated or implied : belonging to such a kind or category and no other : unqualifiedly such : utter , absolute
frightened by the sheer immensity of the place
sheer folly
b. : being free from any adulterant or diluent : pure , unmixed
a layer of sheer sand provided drainage
sheer ale
c. : viewed or acting in dissociation from other matters : stressed or functioning to the exclusion of other factors
the power of sheer mind
won through by sheer determination
4. : marked by great and unrelieved steepness : precipitous
a sheer drop
Synonyms: see pure , steep
II. adverb
1. : altogether , completely , directly , quite
fell sheer into the water
2. : straight up or down without a break : perpendicularly
III. noun
( -s )
1. : a sheer fabric (as chiffon, organdy, ninon) ; also : an article (as a dress) of such a fabric
2. : precipice
IV.
chiefly dialect
variant of shear
V.
dialect England
variant of shire
VI. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: perhaps alteration of shear (I)
intransitive verb
: to deviate from a course : turn aside to or as if to avoid collision : swerve — usually used with an adverb of direction (as off, away, up, in )
transitive verb
: to cause to sheer
sheer a car around a puddle
sheer away the brunt of wind-driven tides — Walter Fountain
Synonyms: see turn
VII. noun
( -s )
1. : a turn, deviation, or change in a course (as of a ship) : swerve
2. : the position of a ship riding to a single anchor and heading toward it
VIII. noun
Etymology: perhaps alteration of shear (II)
1. : the fore-and-aft curvature from bow to stern of a ship's deck as shown in side elevation
2. : sheer strake