sheer
/ʃɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ʃɪr/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈshir/ (ame, mw) · /ʃɪər/ (bre, ipa)
sheer — adjective
- sheerpositive
- sheerercomparative
- sheerestsuperlative
1. used right before a noun to stress how huge, total, or overwhelming the size, am
used right before a noun to stress how huge, total, or overwhelming the size, amount, or strength of something is — as if no other word can capture it.
The sheer size of Mira's wedding cake made everyone in the room gasp.
sheer + size (intensifier of magnitude)
Tunde was overwhelmed by the sheer number of emails waiting on Monday morning.
sheer number of + plural noun
Tourists in Rio stared at the sheer scale of the carnival floats below.
The boxes were too heavy to lift, and their sheer weight cracked the wooden trolley.
文法句型
sheer + noun (size, number, scale, weight)
用法筆記
Always sits directly before the noun and never appears after a linking verb in this sense. You cannot say 'the size was sheer'. Subjects are typically nouns of measurement or quantity (size, number, scale, weight, volume).
常見錯誤
2. used before an abstract noun to say that one feeling, force, or cause was the on
used before an abstract noun to say that one feeling, force, or cause was the only thing involved — nothing else helped, mixed in, or got in the way.
Sofie passed the climbing test through sheer determination, not technique.
sheer determination (only that, nothing else)
By sheer luck, Christopher caught the last train home from Osaka.
by sheer luck (fixed phrase)
When the puppy ran back through the door, Ada cried out in sheer joy.
The diver froze in sheer terror as a shark glided past the reef.
Rohan's rude reply left his teacher speechless at the sheer audacity of it.
- pure
wider use; covers both abstract qualities and physical substances
- unmitigated
more formal; usually pairs with negative nouns (unmitigated disaster)
文法句型
sheer + abstract noun (luck, determination, joy)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 stresses how big or many (sheer size, sheer number); sense 2 stresses that the cause or feeling was unmixed and on its own (sheer luck = luck and only luck). Pairs almost exclusively with abstract nouns naming a feeling, quality, or single cause.
常見錯誤
3. describing a slope, wall of rock, or drop that is so steep it falls almost strai
describing a slope, wall of rock, or drop that is so steep it falls almost straight down, like the side of a tall building.
Wei stepped back from the sheer cliff and took a long, careful breath.
sheer cliff (typical noun)
Rope marks scarred the sheer rock face above the climbers' camp.
sheer rock face / wall
Heloísa's village sits at the bottom of a sheer drop into the valley.
The road climbed past sheer walls of black volcanic stone for several miles.
- vertical
more neutral and technical; describes geometry rather than visual impact
- precipitous
formal; emphasises sudden steepness and danger
用法筆記
Mostly used before nouns naming physical drops or vertical surfaces: cliff, drop, face, wall. Predicative use ('the slope was sheer') is possible but rare.
4. describing fabric, curtains, or stockings that are made so thin and light that l
describing fabric, curtains, or stockings that are made so thin and light that light easily passes through and you can partly see what is behind them.
Tara hung sheer white curtains so the morning sun could fill the kitchen.
sheer curtains (typical collocation)
The dancer wore a long dress with sheer sleeves over a pale silk lining.
sheer sleeves / panels (clothing)
Ignacio's grandmother kept her wedding photo behind a sheer lace veil.
Boxes of sheer black stockings filled the bottom shelf of the small shop.
- transparent
wider; covers glass, plastic, and any see-through material, not just fabric
- diaphanous
literary; suggests light, floating, almost cloud-like cloth
用法筆記
Used almost only of textiles, hosiery, and curtains. Frequent collocates: curtains, fabric, stockings, tights, sleeves, veil, blouse.
sheer — verb
- sheerpresent simple I / you / we / they
- sheers3rd person singular
- sheering-ing form
- sheeredpast simple
1. of a ship, vehicle, or animal: to turn quickly and sharply away from the line it
of a ship, vehicle, or animal: to turn quickly and sharply away from the line it was following, often to avoid hitting something.
The yacht sheered sharply to port when Lakan spotted the rocks ahead.
sheer + adverb of direction (to port, away)
A frightened deer sheered off into the trees as the engine roared past.
sheer off (turn away suddenly)
Captain Nicholas ordered the boat to sheer away from the busy ferry lane.
The wind hit the sail hard and the small dinghy sheered to one side.
文法句型
sheer + away/off/aside
用法筆記
Mainly nautical or literary; intransitive only and almost always followed by an adverb such as 'off', 'away', 'aside', or 'to one side'. Bare 'the boat sheered' is unusual without a direction.
常見錯誤
sheer — noun
1. a piece of cloth woven so thinly and lightly that you can see through it, used f
a piece of cloth woven so thinly and lightly that you can see through it, used for items like curtains, scarves, or blouses.
Sofia draped a pale blue sheer over the bedroom window for soft morning light.
a sheer (countable; piece of fabric)
The shop sold silk sheers in every shade between cream and rose.
plural 'sheers' for items of see-through cloth
Layla's wedding gown had two sheers layered over a satin underskirt.
The tailor sewed a thin sheer onto the edge of the cotton scarf.
用法筆記
Far less common than the adjective; mostly seen in interior-design and fashion contexts. Plural 'sheers' (light curtains) is more frequent than the singular.
sheer — adverb
1. in a way that goes straight up or straight down without bending, breaking, or sl
in a way that goes straight up or straight down without bending, breaking, or sloping — used to describe how a cliff, wall, or fall reaches from one level to another.
The granite walls rose sheer above the path that wound around the lake.
rise sheer (typical verb pairing)
From the lighthouse, the cliff dropped sheer into the dark waves below.
drop sheer + into [destination]
Ice fell sheer down the mountainside after the climbers fired a flare.
Behind the old monastery, the slope dropped sheer for nearly a hundred metres.
- perpendicularly
technical; emphasises a 90-degree angle
- vertically
neutral; everyday word for straight up-or-down motion
文法句型
verb + sheer + adverbial of direction (up/down)
用法筆記
Found mostly in formal or literary writing about landscapes. Pairs with verbs of vertical motion: rise, drop, fall, descend. In everyday speech, 'straight up' or 'straight down' is more natural.