sheer (adv.)

  1. straight up or down without a break

    [ Syn: perpendicularly , perpendicularly , perpendicularly , perpendicularly , perpendicularly , perpendicularly , perpendicularly , perpendicularly ]

  2. directly; he fell sheer into the water'

    sheer (adj.)

  1. 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

    [ Syn: absolute , downright , out-and-out , rank , right-down ]

  2. not mixed with extraneous elements; plain water; sheer wine; not an unmixed blessing

    [ Syn: plain , unmingled , unmixed ]

  3. 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

    [ Syn: bluff , bold ]

  4. 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

    [ Syn: diaphanous , filmy , gauzy , gauze-like , gossamer , see-through , transparent , vaporous , vapourous , cobwebby ]

    sheer (v.)

  1. turn sharply; change direction abruptly; The car cut to the left at the intersection; The motorbike veered to the right

    [ Syn: swerve , curve , trend , veer , slue , slew , cut ]

  2. cause to sheer; She sheered her car around the obstacle'

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.