Synonyms for sheer
ʃɪərsheer

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. sheer

   That is pure which is free from mixture or contact with anything that weakens, impairs, or pollutes. Material substances are called pure in the strict sense when free from foreign admixture of any kind; as, pure oxygen; the word is often used to signify free from any defiling or objectionable admixture (the original sense); we speak of water as pure when it is bright, clear, and refreshing, tho it may contain mineral salts in solution; in the medical and chemical sense, only distilled water (aqua pura) is pure. In moral and religious use pure is a strong word, denoting positive excellence of a high order; one is innocent who knows nothing of evil, and has experienced no touch of temptation; one is pure who, with knowledge of evil and exposure to temptation, keeps heart and soul unstained. Virtuous refers primarily to right action; pure to right feeling and motives; as, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God," Matt. v, 8. Compare FINE; INNOCENT.

   Synonyms:
   absolute, chaste, classic, classical, clean, clear, continent, genuine, guileless, guiltless, holy, immaculate, incorrupt, innocent, mere, perfect, pure, real, simple, spotless, stainless, true, unadulterated, unblemished, uncorrupted, undefiled, unmingled, unmixed, unpolluted, unspotted, unstained, unsullied, untainted, untarnished, upright, virtuous

   Antonyms:
   adulterated, defiled, dirty, filthy, foul, gross, immodest, impure, indecent, indelicate, lewd, mixed, obscene, polluted, stained, sullied, tainted, tarnished, unchaste, unclean

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. sheer

   Synonyms:
   pure, mere, unmixed, unqualified, unmitigated, absolute, simple, unadulterated

   Antonyms:
   mixed, qualified, adulterated, modified, partial

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. absolute, downright, out-and-out(a), rank(a), right-down, sheer(a)adjective

   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"

   Antonyms:
   impure, uncomplete, thick, gradual, incomplete

2. plain, sheer, unmingled, unmixedadjective

   not mixed with extraneous elements

   "plain water"; "sheer wine"; "not an unmixed blessing"

   Synonyms:
   evident, bare, spare, gauzy, downright, unpatterned, uncompounded, cobwebby, unmixed, unornamented, vapourous, right-down, out-and-out(a), manifest, patent, absolute, vaporous, homely, see-through, unmingled, unvarnished, rank(a), gossamer, bluff, sheer(a), diaphanous, apparent, plain, bold, filmy, gauze-like, unembellished, transparent, unmistakable

   Antonyms:
   thick, incomplete, gradual, uncomplete, impure

3. bluff, bold, sheeradjective

   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"

   Synonyms:
   rank(a), transparent, sheer(a), absolute, cobwebby, vapourous, plain, diaphanous, right-down, see-through, vaporous, gossamer, filmy, bluff, bold, unmingled, gauze-like, unmixed, downright, gauzy, out-and-out(a)

   Antonyms:
   incomplete, gradual, thick, impure, uncomplete

4. diaphanous, filmy, gauzy, gauze-like, gossamer, see-through, sheer, transparent, vaporous, vapourous, cobwebbyverb

   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"

   Synonyms:
   gauzy, vaporific, miasmic, vapourish, crystalline, cobwebby, unmixed, downright, vapourous, right-down, pellucid, out-and-out(a), absolute, vaporous, see-through, unmingled, vaporish, ethereal, rank(a), limpid, bluff, sheer(a), diaphanous, miasmal, gossamer, plain, bold, filmy, crystal clear, lucid, gauze-like, vapourific, guileless, transparent

   Antonyms:
   gradual, uncomplete, incomplete, impure, thick

5. swerve, sheer, curve, trend, veer, slue, slew, cutverb

   turn sharply; change direction abruptly

   "The car cut to the left at the intersection"; "The motorbike veered to the right"

   Synonyms:
   foreshorten, veer, bring down, wind, turn off, edit out, arch, twist, hack, trim down, write out, prune, thin, kink, cut, rationalize, trim back, trim, ignore, swerve, shorten, crook, edit, thin out, cut down, skip, abridge, reduce, rationalise, arc, contract, burn, dilute, curve, switch off, make out, geld, slew, disregard, tailor, cut off, turn out, snub, slue, slide, issue, cut back, abbreviate, trend, curl, slip, skid

   Antonyms:
   gradual, incomplete, uncomplete, impure, thick

6. sheeradverb

   cause to sheer

   "She sheered her car around the obstacle"

   Synonyms:
   slue, swerve, cut, trend, veer, slew, curve

   Antonyms:
   impure, incomplete, thick, uncomplete, gradual

7. sheer, perpendicularlyadverb

   straight up or down without a break

   Synonyms:
   perpendicularly

   Antonyms:
   gradual, thick, uncomplete, incomplete, impure

8. sheeradverb

   directly

   "he fell sheer into the water"

   Synonyms:
   perpendicularly

   Antonyms:
   impure, uncomplete, incomplete, gradual, thick

Matched Categories

1. • Turn

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. sheeradjective

   Synonyms:
   pure, unmixed, simple, mere, bare, naked

2. sheeradjective

   Synonyms:
   perpendicular

3. sheeradjective

   Synonyms:
   mainstay, chief support, main reliance

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. sheeradjective

   Synonyms:
   thin, unadulterated, pure, unmixed, precipitous, abrupt, perpendicular

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "sheer":

   pure, mere, simple, clean, purely

Suggested Resources

1. Sheer

   Shear vs. Sheer -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Shear and Sheer.

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How to use sheer in a sentence?

1. Constable Nick Lingham:

   It is clear those responsible would have needed a large vehicle such as a flatbed truck and may have also needed to lift it by mechanical means, it is a hugely distinctive object and it is unlikely the offenders will find it that easy to sell on as scrap or to a collector. Because of its sheer size Police Constable Nick Lingham are hoping people may have seen it being transported and also asking members of the public to keep their eyes open and report anything suspicious.

2. Juanita Duggan:

   The sheer volume of counterfeits on the site as reported by our members, along with the company's unwillingness to make serious reforms is why, after three years, we feel it is necessary to recommend that Taobao be added back to the list and that the U.S. elevate the pressure on them to make substantive, measurable improvements to the counterfeit problem.

3. Chief Ranger Joe Hughes:

   The parks shoreline can be very unforgiving from the cold water to the sheer cliffs and drop offs, by partnering with the highly trained mountaineering guides on SHARP, we are able to safely effect these types of high angle rescues here at the park.

4. Frank Giustra:

   Other media outlets have insinuated that I influenced the decision by the U.S. to sign a free trade agreement with Colombia, at one point, I was an investor in Pacific Rubiales, a Colombian energy company. I sold my shares in Pacific Rubiales several years before the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which, I will note, was approved by several U.S. agencies and the White House. To theorize that I had anything to do with that is sheer conjecture.

5. Charlton McIlwain:

   Then they must ask themselves what role they may have played in contributing to those disparities, and then be willing to correct that which is in our power, this takes less empathy than it does sheer will.