Words / C1

SHEER/ʃɪə/

Sheer emphasises completeness, steepness, or size with nothing mixed in: sheer luck, sheer volume, a sheer drop. Complete and pure are cousins; mere means “only this, and not much”. Sheer fabric is thin and see-through — a second sense. Do not hide understaffing as a “complex landscape”.

Meaning

Used to emphasise how complete, steep, or large something is, with nothing mixed in.

Examples

• “The delay was sheer understaffing, not a “complex landscape”.”
• “Complete is everyday. Utter is a close intensifier. Mere downplays. A sheer cliff is geography. Complexity is a real methods word; it is not a fog machine for a missing rota. Name the gap.”

Good to know

Complete / unmixed (emphasis). Close: utter / complete. Contrast: mere (only, small). Not a fog word for a missing rota.

Near in meaning

utter

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