All 4 Uses
sheer
in
Treasure Island
(Auto-generated)
- Him they had deserted, whether in sheer panic or out of revenge for his ill words and blows I know not; but there he remained behind, tapping up and down the road in a frenzy, and groping and calling for his comrades.†
Chpt 5
- All were strangely shaped, and the Spy-glass, which was by three or four hundred feet the tallest on the island, was likewise the strangest in configuration, running up sheer from almost every side and then suddenly cut off at the top like a pedestal to put a statue on.†
Chpt 13
- The air, besides, was fresh and stirring, and this, under the sheer sunbeams, was a wonderful refreshment to our senses.†
Chpt 31 *
- Sheer above us rose the Spyglass, here dotted with single pines, there black with precipices.†
Chpt 32
Definitions:
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(1)
(sheer as in: a sheer blouse) typically of fabric: very thin and delicate -- often transparent
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(2)
(sheer as in: sheer fun) complete or pure -- without restriction, qualification, or other elements (used for emphasis)
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(3)
(sheer as in: a sheer cliff) so steep it is almost vertical
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(4)
(sheer as in: sheer to the left) change direction; or to cause such a change of direction -- usually abruptly
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(5)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Sheer can also be an alternative spelling for shear (to cut). Sheers can refer to light, transparent curtains.