All 6 Uses of
sheer
in
And Then There Were None
- May be sheer moonshine-just plain lunacy!
p. 100.2sheer = pure
- Of course all that was the sheerest hypocrisy!
p. 110.7sheerest = purest
- ...the cliffs fell sheer to the sea below,
p. 123.5sheer = steeply
- It's pretty sheer. [the cliff]
p. 126.5 *sheer = steep
- And anyway it's a sheer impossibility that Armstrong can be in the house.
p. 252.1 *sheer = complete
- Sheer reaction had kept her immobile.
p. 265.6sheer = pure (nothing else)
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) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Sheer can also be an alternative spelling for shear (to cut).