All 5 Uses of

sheer

in

Dracula

Sometimes he sheered off the subject, or turned the conversation by pretending not to understand, but generally he answered all I asked most frankly.
p. 28.3 *

sheered = swerved (changed to a different topic)

To the west was a great valley, and then, rising far away, great jagged mountain fastnesses, rising peak on peak, the sheer rock studded with mountain ash and thorn, whose roots clung in cracks and crevices and crannies of the stone.
p. 43.1

sheer = so steep it is almost vertical

She will die for sheer want of blood to keep the heart's action as it should be.
p. 131.2 *

sheer = pure (without other reasons)

For a while sheer anger mastered me.
p. 207.0

sheer = complete and without restriction

We saw it in all its grandeur, perched a thousand feet on the summit of a sheer precipice, and with seemingly a great gap between it and the steep of the adjacent mountain on any side.
p. 396.2 *

sheer = so steep it is almost vertical

Definitions:

(1) (sheer as in: a sheer blouse)
typically of fabric: very thin and delicate -- often transparent
(2) (sheer as in: sheer fun)
complete or pure -- without restriction, qualification, or other elements (used for emphasis)
(3) (sheer as in: a sheer cliff)
so steep it is almost vertical
(4) (sheer as in: sheer to the left)
change direction; or to cause such a change of direction -- usually abruptly
(5) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Sheer can also be an alternative spelling for shear (to cut).