SHEER

Definitions

1. 1. Bright; clear; pure; unmixed. "Sheer ale." Shak. Thou sheer, immaculate, and silver fountain. Shak.
2. 2. Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer muslin.
3. 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. 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.