sheer

/ʃiə/

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Thân thiện

The sheer curtains let in the morning light.

Definition

Adjective:
- Very thin and light, almost transparent: Used to describe fabrics or materials that are so fine you can see through them.
- Very steep; almost vertical: Used to describe a cliff, drop, or surface that rises or falls at a very sharp angle.
- Complete and total; used for emphasis: Used to describe something that is nothing other than what is stated, often to emphasize its strength or degree.
Adverb:
- Completely; straight up or down: Used to emphasize that something moves or extends in a perfectly vertical line.
- Directly; without deviation: Used to describe a direct, unobstructed path or action.
Verb:
- To change direction suddenly; to swerve: Used when a vehicle or ship turns sharply away from its course.
- To cause something to swerve: To make a vehicle or ship change direction suddenly.

Usage Examples

Adjective:
- She wore a dress made of sheer fabric. (The fabric was very thin and light.)
- The climbers faced a sheer rock wall. (The rock wall was very steep and almost vertical.)
- It was sheer luck that we found the keys. (It was nothing but luck; it was complete luck.)
Adverb:
- The cliff fell sheer to the sea below. (The cliff dropped in a perfectly vertical line.)
- The rocket rose sheer into the sky. (The rocket went straight up.)
Verb:
- The ship had to sheer to avoid the iceberg. (The ship turned sharply to avoid the iceberg.)
- The driver sheered the bus away from the fallen tree. (The driver steered the bus sharply away from the obstacle.)

Advanced Usage

"Sheer away" or "Sheer off" (phrasal verb): To turn or move away sharply, especially to avoid something. It can also mean to avoid a person or topic of conversation.
- The cyclist sheered off to avoid the pothole.
- He tends to sheer away from difficult questions.
"By sheer force/persistence/will": Emphasizes that something was achieved only through a single, powerful quality.
- She succeeded by sheer willpower.

Variants and Related Words

Sheerly (adverb): In a sheer manner; completely, utterly.
- His success was sheerly a result of hard work.
Sheerness (noun): The quality of being sheer (thin or steep).
- The sheerness of the fabric made it elegant.
- The sheerness of the cliff was terrifying.

Synonyms

Related Phrasal Verbs

Sheer off: To turn away sharply; to avoid.
- The boat sheered off from the dangerous rocks.
- Whenever politics is mentioned, he sheers off.

Related Idioms

The sheer drop/face of something: Emphasizes the extreme vertical nature of a cliff or wall.
- They stood at the edge, looking down at the sheer drop.
Sheer nonsense/folly/madness: Emphasizes that something is completely foolish or illogical.
- Ignoring the warnings was sheer folly.

The sheer curtains let in the morning light.

Adjective

so thin as to transmit light
- a hat with a diaphanous veil
- filmy wings of a moth
- gauzy clouds of dandelion down
- gossamer cobwebs
- sheer silk stockings
- transparent chiffon
- vaporous silks
very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
- a bluff headland
- where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise
- a sheer descent of rock
not mixed with extraneous elements
- plain water
- sheer wine
- not an unmixed blessing
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
- absolute freedom
- an absolute dimwit
- a downright lie
- out-and-out mayhem
- an out-and-out lie
- a rank outsider
- many right-down vices
- got the job through sheer persistence
- sheer stupidity

Adverb

Verb

cause to sheer
- She sheered her car around the obstacle
turn sharply; change direction abruptly
- The car cut to the left at the intersection
- The motorbike veered to the right

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