sheer

1 very thin and easy to see through we had to get window shades because passersby could see right through our sheer curtains Synonyms cobwebby, diaphanous, filmy, gauzelike, gauzy, gossamer, gossamery, see-through, transparent Related Words peekaboo; clear, crystal, crystalline, limpid, liquid, lucent, pellucid; lucid, translucent; dainty, delicate, flimsy, fragile, frail, insubstantial, unsubstantial; colorless, uncolored Near Antonyms opaque; cloudy, foggy, hazy, misty, murky, nebulous, smoky (also smokey); drab, dull, lackluster, lusterless

2 having no exceptions or restrictions survivors of the earthquake told of experiencing sheer terror Synonyms all-out, arrant, blank, blooming [chiefly British], bodacious [Southern & Midland], categorical (also categoric), clean, complete, consummate, cotton-picking, crashing, damn, damned, dead, deadly, definite, downright, dreadful, fair, flat, flat-out, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plumb, profound, pure, rank, regular, absolute, simple, stark, stone, straight-out, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unconditional, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, veryRelated Words authentic, classic, genuine, real, veritable; constant, endless, eternal, perpetual, undying, unremitting; extreme, unrestricted; confirmed, habitual, hopeless, inveterate; extraordinary, frightful, horrible, huge, main, superlative, supreme, surpassing, terrible, terrificNear Antonyms doubtful, dubious, equivocal, qualified, questionable, restricted, uncertain

3 having an incline approaching the perpendicular the sheer slopes of the ravine Synonyms abrupt, bold, precipitous, steepRelated Words perpendicular, plumb, straight, vertical; craggy, hillocky, hilly, mountainous, scarped; angled, canted, cocked, heeled, inclined, listed, slanted, sloped, tilted, tippedNear Antonyms gentle, gradual, moderate, soft; even, flat, flush, horizontal, level, plane, smooth, unruffled, unwrinkledAntonyms easy