Hypertext Webster Gateway: "sheer"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheer \Sheer\, adv.
Clean; quite; at once. [Obs.] --Milton.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheer \Sheer\, v. t. [See {Shear}.]
To shear. [Obs.] --Dryden.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheer \Sheer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sheered}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Sheering}.] [D. sheren to shear, cut, withdraw, warp. See
{Shear}.]
To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to
turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a
horse sheers at a bicycle.
{To sheer off}, to turn or move aside to a distance; to move
away.
{To sheer up}, to approach obliquely.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheer \Sheer\, n.
1. (Naut.)
(a) The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck,
gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from
the side.
(b) The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and
swinging clear of it.
2. A turn or change in a course.
Give the canoe a sheer and get nearer to the shore.
--Cooper.
3. pl. Shears See {Shear}.
{Sheer batten} (Shipbuilding), a long strip of wood to guide
the carpenters in following the sheer plan.
{Sheer boom}, a boom slanting across a stream to direct
floating logs to one side.
{Sheer hulk}. See {Shear hulk}, under {Hulk}.
{Sheer plan}, or {Sheer draught} (Shipbuilding), a projection
of the lines of a vessel on a vertical longitudinal plane
passing through the middle line of the vessel.
{Sheer pole} (Naut.), an iron rod lashed to the shrouds just
above the dead-eyes and parallel to the ratlines.
{Sheer strake} (Shipbuilding), the strake under the gunwale
on the top side. --Totten.
{To break sheer} (Naut.), to deviate from sheer, and risk
fouling the anchor.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sheer \Sheer\, a. [OE. shere, skere, pure, bright, Icel. sk?rr;
akin to sk[=i]rr, AS. sc[=i]r, OS. sk[=i]ri, MHG. sch[=i]r,
G. schier, Dan. sk?r, Sw. sk["a]r, Goth. skeirs clear, and E.
shine. [root]157. See {Shine}, v. i.]
1. Bright; clear; pure; unmixed. ``Sheer ale.'' --Shak.
Thou sheer, immaculate, and silver fountain. --Shak.
2. Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer
muslin.
3. Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere;
downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense. ``A sheer
impossibility.'' --De Quincey.
It is not a sheer advantage to have several strings
to one's bow. --M. Arnold.
4. Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular.
A sheer precipice of a thousand feet. --J. D.
Hooker.
It was at least Nine roods of sheer ascent.
--Wordsworth.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
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(a)}, {rank(a)}, {right-down}, {sheer(a)}]
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}, {gossamer}, {see-through}, {transparent},
{vaporous}, {cobwebby}]
adv 1: straight up or down without a break [syn: {perpendicularly}]
2: directly; "he fell sheer into the water"
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"
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