Sheer - English meaning

adjective

Sudden and unexpected.

Usage examples:

I was surprised by the abrupt change of subject

adjective

Sudden and not expected, often with unpleasant results

Usage examples:

There was an abrupt change in her mood., we came to an abrupt curve in the road., his abrupt manner…

adjective

Not qualified or diminished in any way; total.

Usage examples:

Absolute secrecy

noun

A value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or which may be viewed without relation to other things.

Usage examples:

Good and evil are presented as absolutes

noun

An attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or is going to do something.

Usage examples:

The offer was denounced as a bluff

verb

Try to deceive someone as to one's abilities or intentions.

Usage examples:

He's been bluffing all along

adjective

Direct in speech or behaviour but in a good-natured way.

Usage examples:

A big, bluff, hearty man

adjective

Having all the necessary or appropriate parts.

Usage examples:

A complete list of courses offered by the university

verb

Finish making or doing.

Usage examples:

He completed his phd in 1993

verb

Having all necessary qualities

verb

Make (a marriage or relationship) complete by having sexual intercourse.

Usage examples:

They did not consummate their marriage until months after it took place

adjective

Showing great skill and flair.

Usage examples:

She dressed with consummate elegance

adjective

Perfect; complete in every way

Usage examples:

Consummate skill, the deal was consummated with a handshake.

adjective

(especially of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent.

Usage examples:

A diaphanous dress of pale gold

adjective

A diaphanous substance, especially cloth, is so delicate and thin that you can see through it

Usage examples:

A diaphanous silk veil

adjective

(of something bad or unpleasant) utter; complete (used for emphasis).

Usage examples:

It's a downright disgrace

adverb

To an extreme degree; thoroughly.

Usage examples:

He was downright rude

phrase

Complete and without restriction or qualification

verb

Be carried slowly by a current of air or water.

Usage examples:

The cabin cruiser started to drift downstream

noun

A continuous slow movement from one place to another.

Usage examples:

There was a drift to the towns

adjective

(especially of fabric) thin and translucent.

Usage examples:

Filmy white voile

adjective

Very thin and often transparent

Usage examples:

Filmy material, a filmy dress

adjective

Of very high quality; very good of its kind.

Usage examples:

This was a fine piece of film-making

noun

Very small particles found in mining, milling, etc.

Usage examples:

It raises dust, separating fines from aggregate.

adverb

In a satisfactory or pleasing manner; very well.

Usage examples:

‘and how's the job-hunting going?’ ‘oh, fine.’

adjective

(especially of a woman's garment or a fabric) light and flimsy.

Usage examples:

Elegant floaty dresses

noun

An inflatable object on which a person may sit or recline while floating in water.

Usage examples:

She plopped down on a pool floatie

adjective

A floaty material is very light and moves in the air

Usage examples:

Floaty dresses, at age three, he ripped off his floaties and jumped into the deep end., there's onl…

adjective

Resembling gauze; thin and translucent.

Usage examples:

A gauzy dress

noun

A fine, filmy substance consisting of cobwebs spun by small spiders, seen especially in autumn.

Usage examples:

So i made a classic cross-hair from spider's gossamer and used it to pinpoint a cell in the area i …

noun

The very thin thread that spiders produce to make webs

Usage examples:

Gossamer wings, a gossamer veil

adjective

Lacking strength and solidity.

Usage examples:

The huts are relatively few and insubstantial

adjective

Of little value or importance, or not being strong, solid, or large

Usage examples:

He was popular during the early part of the 20th century, but today his work seems dated and insubs…

adjective

Complete; in all ways

Usage examples:

He’s an out-and-out fraud.

noun

A government authority or licence conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.

Usage examples:

He took out a patent for an improved steam hammer

adjective

Easily recognizable; obvious.

Usage examples:

She was smiling with patent insincerity

Obtain a patent for (an invention).

Usage examples:

An invention is not your own until it is patented

adjective

At an angle of 90° to a given line, plane, or surface or to the ground.

Usage examples:

Dormers and gables that extend perpendicular to the main roofline

noun

A straight line at an angle of 90° to a given line, plane, or surface.

Usage examples:

At each division draw a perpendicular representing the surface line

adjective

At an angle of 90° to another line or surface

Usage examples:

Two perpendicular lines form a right angle., the cliff was nearly perpendicular and impossible to c…

adjective

Dangerously high or steep.

Usage examples:

The track skirted a precipitous drop

adjective

Very steep, or falling a long way very fast

Usage examples:

Precipitous cliffs, new fads could result in a precipitous drop in sales.

adjective

If a reduction is precipitous, it happens very suddenly and is very big

Usage examples:

A precipitous decline/drop/fall the company has seen a precipitous decline in advertising revenue.,…

adjective

Not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material.

Usage examples:

Cars can run on pure alcohol

adjective

Not mixed with anything else

Usage examples:

The scarf is pure silk., it was a moment of pure joy., the mountain air was fresh and pure (= not p…

verb

Cut or erode (a slope or hillside) so that it becomes steep, perpendicular, or precipitous.

Usage examples:

The scarped edge of the central plateau

noun

A very steep bank or slope; an escarpment.

Usage examples:

The north face is a very steep scarp

idiom

Perceive the true nature of

phrasal verb

Not be deceived by someone or something; detect the true nature of someone or something.

Usage examples:

He can see through her lies and deceptions

phrasal verb

Support a person for the duration of a difficult time.

Usage examples:

My family saw me through that very tough first year

adjective

(of an object) having an edge or point that is able to cut or pierce something.

Usage examples:

Cut the cake with a very sharp knife

adverb

Precisely (used after an expression of time).

Usage examples:

The meeting starts at 7.30 sharp

noun

A musical note raised a semitone above natural pitch.

Usage examples:

Choices in successive levels expand to all notes, then sharps and flats.

adjective

Neither parallel nor at right angles to a specified or implied line; askew; crooked.

Usage examples:

His hat looked slightly skew

noun

An oblique angle; a slant.

Usage examples:

The most important effect of the skew in angle is the raised plateau of entrance court created in t…

verb

Suddenly change direction or position.

Usage examples:

The car had skewed across the track

verb

Turn or slide violently or uncontrollably.

Usage examples:

The renault slewed from side to side in the snow

noun

A violent or uncontrollable sliding movement.

Usage examples:

I was assaulted by the thump and slew of the van

verb

Past of slay1.

adjective

Incomparable or outstanding.

Usage examples:

A picture of surpassing beauty

verb

Exceed; be greater than.

Usage examples:

Pre-war levels of production were surpassed in 1929

adjective

Extremely great

Usage examples:

A face of surpassing beauty

verb

Change or cause to change direction abruptly.

Usage examples:

A lorry swerved across her path

noun

An abrupt change of direction.

Usage examples:

Do not make sudden swerves, particularly around parked vehicles

verb

Turn sharply; change direction abruptly

verb

Move or cause to move back and forth or from side to side while suspended or on an axis.

Usage examples:

Her long black skirt swung about her legs

noun

A seat suspended by ropes or chains, on which someone may sit and swing back and forth.

Usage examples:

The chains that had been holding the seat of the swing up were still sticking straight out.

verb

Change direction with a swinging motion; turn

adjective

Complete with regard to every detail; not superficial or partial.

Usage examples:

Planners need a thorough understanding of the subject

adjective

With nothing left out or omitted; complete

Usage examples:

The district attorney’s office conducted a thorough investigation., the doctor gave him a thorough …

adjective

Involving or attending to every detail or aspect of something.

Usage examples:

A thoroughgoing reform of the whole economy

adjective

Complete, detailed, careful

Usage examples:

A thoroughgoing reform of the economy

adjective

Comprising the whole number or amount.

Usage examples:

A total cost of £4,000

noun

The whole number or amount of something.

Usage examples:

He scored a total of thirty-three points

verb

Amount in number to.

Usage examples:

They were left with debts totalling £6,260

adjective

(of a substance) allowing light, but not detailed shapes, to pass through; semi-transparent.

Usage examples:

Her beautiful translucent skin

adjective

(of a substance) allowing some light to pass through

Usage examples:

The vase was made from translucent, milky glass.

adjective

(of a material or article) allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.

Usage examples:

Transparent blue water

adjective

(of a substance) allowing light through so that objects can be clearly seen through it

Usage examples:

Those transparent plastic boxes are called jewel boxes., the real reason for her leaving was so tra…

adjective

Transparent business and financial activities are done in an open way without secrets, so that people can trust that they are fair and honest

Usage examples:

The charter aims to make the national health service a more transparent and open public corporation…

adjective

Consisting of extremely fine (= small or thin) pieces or drops

Usage examples:

People may develop heart disease when they are exposed to ultra-fine particles that are common poll…

adjective

Very delicate and thin

Usage examples:

The ultra-fine wool from the flock is used to make a line of high-end clothing., it's time to swap …

adjective

(of metal) not alloyed; pure.

Usage examples:

Unalloyed copper

adjective

(especially of a positive feeling) not spoiled by any amount of negative feeling; pure

Usage examples:

Spending time with one's family is never an unalloyed pleasure (= there are bad things about it too…

adjective

Absolute; unqualified.

Usage examples:

The tour had been an unmitigated disaster

adjective

(esp. of something unpleasant or unsuccessful) complete

Usage examples:

Her new business proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

adjective

(of a person) not officially recognized as a practitioner of a particular profession or activity through having satisfied the relevant conditions or requirements.

Usage examples:

No company would permit an unqualified accountant to audit its books

adjective

Lacking the skills and experience needed for a particular job

Usage examples:

I liked her, but she was unqualified for the job., my first attempt was an unqualified success.

adjective

Complete; absolute.

Usage examples:

Charlotte stared at her in utter amazement

verb

Make (a sound) with one's voice.

Usage examples:

He uttered an exasperated snort

adjective

Complete or extreme

Usage examples:

What an utter fool i was!, she felt isolated and utterly alone., she sat through the entire meeting…

verb

Change direction suddenly.

Usage examples:

An oil tanker that had veered off course

noun

A sudden change of direction.

Usage examples:

In particular, sword wants to discover what triggers the insects' specific movements - a sudden vee…

verb

Slacken or let out (a rope or cable) in a controlled way.

adjective

Used for emphasis, often to qualify a metaphor.

Usage examples:

The early 1970s witnessed a veritable price explosion

adjective

(used to emphasize how great or unusual something is by comparing it to something else)

Usage examples:

If current projections hold, montgomery county will experience a veritable explosion in its school-…

adjective

At right angles to a horizontal plane; in a direction, or having an alignment, such that the top is directly above the bottom.

Usage examples:

The vertical axis

noun

A vertical line or plane.

Usage examples:

The columns incline several degrees away from the vertical

adjective

Standing or pointing straight up or at an angle of 90 to a horizontal surface or line

Usage examples:

Water that had leaked from above formed a vertical line down one wall.

adjective

Extremely high or steep.

Usage examples:

Vertiginous drops to the valleys below

adjective

Causing or experiencing the feeling that everything is spinning around

Usage examples:

The two skyscrapers were connected by a vertiginous walkway.

verb

(of a moving ship or aircraft) twist or oscillate about a vertical axis.

Usage examples:

The jet yawed sharply to the right

noun

Twisting or oscillation of a moving ship or aircraft about a vertical axis.

Usage examples:

Applying the opposite rudder will tend to reduce the yaw

verb

If an aircraft or ship yaws, it moves slightly to the side of its intended direction

Usage examples:

The boat pitched and yawed in the bay., witnesses to the crash reported seeing the challenger yaw t…