Synonyms
Examples of sheer in a Sentence
Will Bedingfield, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023
Here, 15 sheer dresses to try out the look this season.
—Roxanne Adamiyatt, Town & Country, 8 Sep. 2023
Even so, several women at Tulane expressed to me their sense that the gender ratio left them with fewer options, in sheer numbers and in the kinds of relationships available to them.
—Susan Dominus, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2023
The process was further complicated by the sheer number of people who were initially missing following the wildfire.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 8 Sep. 2023
While popular, Saddle Mountain is considered a more hardy excursion, with no drinking water, sheer cliffs and lots of exposure to the elements.
—oregonlive, 7 Sep. 2023
Chopra’s dress—sheer and intricately spangled, revealing a high-waist lingerie set beneath—was taken from Giambattista Valli’s fall 2023 collection.
—Daniel Rodgers, Glamour, 7 Sep. 2023
The displays of chests, thighs and cheeks on every body type in sequins or sheer shirts answered the evening’s call to freedom of body, movement and expression.
—Marissa Evans, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
Their movements, their actions, and their sheer presence alter the seascape.
—Jon Stojan, Detroit Free Press, 29 Aug. 2023
Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 18 Apr. 2023
John Sharp | Jsharp@al.com, al, 16 Aug. 2023
With the climate crisis impacting the temperatures and acidity of the oceans, these agile ocean creatures are sheering off their normal paths and traveling to unknown, often taxing, territories.
—Rachel Ramirez, CNN, 27 July 2023
The movie’s flamboyant personalities and tongue-in-cheek action push the envelope of high camp without ever succumbing to sheer silliness.
—Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 July 2023
Avoid sheering the tops, instead cutting back individual branches.
—oregonlive, 16 Apr. 2023
That leaves sheer conspicuous consumption as the main thrust of this car, and that's just too anachronistic a concept, even for a luxury cruiser, in 1986.
—Larry Griffin, Car and Driver, 24 Apr. 2023
The impact of the crash had sheered off the concrete pole at the bottom, according to Bright.
—Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2023
Another option: take this knowledge to your nail salon, find a brown polish that suits your skin tone, ask your artist to thin it out (this, Bieber says, is one of her favourite tricks to sheer out the pigment), then ask for a chrome powder over top.
—Megan Decker, refinery29.com, 20 Sep. 2022
Or, more aptly, the viewpoint is that if there are drivers that are sheep, while the drivers that are the wolves will surely and axiomatically sheer them.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2021
Hannah Knowles, Josh Dawsey, Michael Scherer and Marianne Levine, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 16 July 2023
It was created by Black people’s sheer will to exist.
—Dallasnews.com Staff, Dallas News, 15 June 2023
This lightweight oil0-free formula goes on sheer and won't aggravate sensitive or acne-prone skin.
—Brian Underwood, Women's Health, 9 June 2023
Jenner, trailing ahead, wore a brown sheer Paloma Wool off-the-shoulder top paired with a Blumarine brown shearling mini skirt and boots.
—Zizi Strater, Peoplemag, 15 May 2023
The model was wearing a sheer, sleeveless royal blue dress that clung tightly to her torso, rising into a mock turtleneck.
—Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 29 Apr. 2023
Having to dodge a bike license is a short-term inconvenience which would be worth it when the sheer ridiculous of it ultimately bites him in the ass.
—Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 22 Mar. 2023
For her date look, Rihanna wore a high-neck sheer Alaïa bodysuit over matching skirt pants from the fashion house.
—Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 25 Apr. 2023
In a black sheer mesh one-shoulder gown with a black choker adorned with a 3-D tropical flower, alongside strappy sandals, silver stud earrings, and a coordinating black clutch, for Lori Harvey's 26th birthday bash in Los Angeles.
—Harper's BAZAAR, 7 Jan. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sheer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Adjective
Middle English schere freed from guilt, probably alteration of skere, from Old Norse skærr pure; akin to Old English scīnan to shine
Verb
perhaps alteration of shear entry 1
Noun (3)
perhaps alteration of shear entry 2
Adjective
circa 1568, in the meaning defined at sense 4
Noun (1)
circa 1920, in the meaning defined above
Adverb
1599, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
1539, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun (2)
1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (3)
1691, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing sheer
Dictionary Entries Near sheer
Cite this Entry
“Sheer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sheer. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
sheer
1 of 4 adjectivesheer
2 of 4 adverbsheer
3 of 4 verbsheer
4 of 4 nounAdjective
from earlier sheer "shining," from Middle English sheer "freed from guilt," probably from an early Norse word skærr "pure"
Verb
perhaps an altered form of shear "to cut, cut off"
More from Merriam-Webster on sheer
Nglish: Translation of sheer for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sheer for Arabic Speakers
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