All 4 Uses of

sheer

in

Ferris Beach

Soon the streetlights would come on and slowly the neighborhood would light up, Christmas trees and all the adornments that Mrs. Poole had called sheer tackiness.
Chpt 6 *

sheer = pure or complete

Angela was wearing a red dress, too, smocked at the top with a low neckline, long puffy sleeves, and folds of the thin sheer material that hung in different lengths about six inches above her knees.
Chpt 21 *

sheer = thin and delicate

He pointed up at our house, where the sheers in my window were pulled off to one side.†
Chpt 21 *

Uses with a meaning too rare to warrant foucs:

Her gown was as thin as Mama's sheers in the dining room.
Chpt 21 *

sheers = window coverings that are so thin one can look out through them

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).