sheer

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. utter, absolute; mere, simple; thin, diaphanous; perpendicular, precipitous, vertical, steep. See transparency, simpleness.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Abrupt]

Syn. steep, very steep, precipitous; see abrupt 1 .

2. [Thin]

Syn. transparent, diaphanous, delicate, fine, smooth, pure, lucid, translucent, gauzy, pellucid, limpid, soft, fragile, flimsy, slight, clear, lacy.

3. [Absolute]

Syn. utter, altogether, quite; see absolute 1 .

See Synonym Study at abrupt .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. thin diaphanous, see-through, gossamer, transparent, gauzy, airy, delicate, revealing.

2. steep perpendicular, precipitous, vertical, abrupt.

3. absolute utter, complete, outright, out-and-out, pure, unadulterated, unqualified, downright.

ANT.: 1. opaque, thick, heavy. 2. horizontal. 3. qualified, partial, limited

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb To turn aside sharply from a straight course: chop2, cut, skew, slue1, swerve, veer. Nautical: yaw. See CHANGE.

V

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. So light and insubstantial as to resemble air or a thin film: aerial, aery, airy, diaphanous, ethereal, filmy, gauzy, gossamer, gossamery, transparent, vaporous, vapory. See THICK. 2. Completely such, without qualification or exception: absolute, all-out, arrant, complete, consummate, crashing, damned, dead, downright, flat, out-and-out, outright, perfect, plain, pure, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, unbounded, unequivocal, unlimited, unmitigated, unqualified, unrelieved, unreserved, utter2. Informal: flat-out, positive. Chiefly British: blooming. See BIG, LIMITED. 3. Free from extraneous elements: absolute, perfect, plain, pure, simple, unadulterated, undiluted, unmixed. See CLEAN. 4. So sharply inclined as to be almost perpendicular: abrupt, bold, precipitous, steep1. See HORIZONTAL.