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Definitions

sheer

[sheer] / ʃɪər /
ADJECTIVE
almost vertical; very steep
Synonyms
Antonyms
STRONGEST
STRONG




Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

I will never forget the confusion, and then the sheer terror, of that day.

From Slate Sep. 11, 2026

The sheer number of defense-tech startups based in Florida is still relatively small, trailing bigger hubs like Northern and Southern California.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 10, 2026

The sheer amount of time that gasoline prices have held above $4 a gallon this year is “contributing to household financial anxiety,” the analysts said.

From MarketWatch Sep. 10, 2026

For sheer spectacle, behold the first physical build of General Grievous’ Wheel Bike, an invention previously only realized in CGI but built specifically for the museum at Lucas’ request.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 8, 2026

Beyond sheer verbal volume, the punch so evident in the Adams prose reflected his more aggressive and confrontational temperament.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

What kept these lipsticks from looking dated is that they tended to be stains, not thick creams or dry mattes, with a sheerer, lighter texture than one would traditionally associate with such intense hues.

From New York Times Aug. 16, 2013

So he had a sheerer version tested and sold it in drugstores under the brand names Chez La Femme and Silky Legs.

From New York Times Mar. 22, 2011

Once I got the hang of twisting it just a little, then I got sheerer coverage, but it seemed difficult to do it right.

From New York Times Jun. 9, 2010

WOMEN'S stocking makers are engaged in fierce competition to get sheerer and sheerer hose on the market.

From Time Magazine Archive

He wore his signature royal blue robe, but as Rowan got closer, he could see it was a sheerer variation than the one he had worn at conclave.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

They were anchored to the north face of Mount Jannu, one of the world’s biggest, sheerest rock walls.

From New York Times Dec. 1, 2023

Some will dismiss the concept as sheerest fantasy, or see in Raymond Shaw just a nuclear-age version of that older, less complicated Frankenstein’s monster.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 12, 2022

But it would be sheerest hubris to assume those are the only concerns.

From Slate Jan. 25, 2017

By the sheerest coincidence, his name was also Joe Russo.

From Washington Post Mar. 16, 2015

April and Melanie and Marshall were on their way home through the alley when, by the sheerest luck, Melanie noticed the loose plank.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Sometimes, he adds a pair of sheers behind the main curtains for better light control.

From Seattle Times Nov. 8, 2023

The interior is properly decorated — flowered curtains, gauzy sheers, a hanging crystal light fixture — while a fan on the floor disturbs the peace.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 3, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris, Ella Emhoff, helped the designer showcase his line of soft sheers coupled next to metallics and liquid-like gloves and leggings.

From Reuters Sep. 11, 2022

Grieu recommends hanging sheers behind heavier window treatments.

From Washington Post Feb. 16, 2022

Look at her white sails, and tapering spars, how beautiful she is, as she sheers down on us.

From The Ruined Cities of Zululand by Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley

Several news outlets showed video of a light blue Ferrari 812 Superfast with one of its wheels and side bumpers sheered off.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 3, 2023

Hair sheered from victims to make cloth is considered a sacred human remain which cannot be photographed and is not subjected to conservation efforts.

From Seattle Times May 15, 2023

A bed complete with its patterned sheet and pillow visible inside a room whose outside wall had been sheered clean away showed the scale of the task ahead.

From Reuters Feb. 6, 2023

Mr. Lux said most county election offices received little damage — except in Bay County, home of Panama City, where wind sheered off its roof — and computer servers and voting machines remained intact.

From New York Times Oct. 17, 2018

Fear, beasts, no general agreement that the fire was all-important: and when one tried to get the thing straight the argument sheered off, bringing up fresh, unpleasant matter.

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding

All of this sheering is a symptom of just how much fast fashion has reshaped our wardrobes.

From Slate Dec. 28, 2024

In any case, I would prefer not to deal with such questions, because it will turn out the same as sheering a pig – lots of squealing, little wool.”

From Time Jun. 25, 2013

It’s not what most highlanders have in mind: “We want to make the final products,” says Delfina Apaza, rubbing her hands after hours of manual sheering.

From Time Dec. 30, 2012

Again the patrol boat rammed, sheering off one of the sub's hydroplanes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Oddly enough the other horse seemed also to be sheering away to the left, so that in a few seconds the space between them had widened a good deal.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis




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