sheer
sheer — 形容詞
1. used right before a noun to stress how huge, total, or overwhelming the size, am
十足的
強調規模、數量或程度極為龐大
used right before a noun to stress how huge, total, or overwhelming the size, amount, or strength of something is — as if no other word can capture it.
The sheer size of Mira's wedding cake made everyone in the room gasp.
Mira 婚禮蛋糕的尺寸之大，讓全場的人都倒抽一口氣。
sheer + size (intensifier of magnitude)
Tunde was overwhelmed by the sheer number of emails waiting on Monday morning.
週一早上，信箱裡十足驚人的郵件數量，讓 Tunde 招架不住。
sheer number of + plural noun
Tourists in Rio stared at the sheer scale of the carnival floats below.
在里約，遊客們呆望著嘉年華花車沿著大道前進的龐大規模。
The boxes were too heavy to lift, and their sheer weight cracked the wooden trolley.
那些箱子重得搬不動，光是它們的重量就把木製手推車壓裂了。
文法句型
sheer + noun (size, number, scale, weight)
用法筆記
Always sits directly before the noun and never appears after a linking verb in this sense. You cannot say 'the size was sheer'. Subjects are typically nouns of measurement or quantity (size, number, scale, weight, volume).
常見錯誤
2. used before an abstract noun to say that one feeling, force, or cause was the on
純然的
完全只靠某種感受或原因，沒摻雜其他
used before an abstract noun to say that one feeling, force, or cause was the only thing involved — nothing else helped, mixed in, or got in the way.
Sofie passed the climbing test through sheer determination, not technique.
Sofie 是憑著純然的毅力通過攀岩測驗，而不是靠技巧。
sheer determination (only that, nothing else)
By sheer luck, Christopher caught the last train home from Osaka.
Christopher 純然是憑運氣，才趕上從大阪回家的最後一班火車。
by sheer luck (fixed phrase)
When the puppy ran back through the door, Ada cried out in sheer joy.
小狗跑回門口時，Ada 純然地高興得喊了出來。
The diver froze in sheer terror as a shark glided past the reef.
當鯊魚從礁石旁滑過，潛水員嚇得僵住，那是純然的恐懼。
Rohan's rude reply left his teacher speechless at the sheer audacity of it.
Rohan 那句無禮的回話，讓老師被那份純然的放肆無禮震得說不出話。
- pure
wider use; covers both abstract qualities and physical substances
- unmitigated
more formal; usually pairs with negative nouns (unmitigated disaster)
文法句型
sheer + abstract noun (luck, determination, joy)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 stresses how big or many (sheer size, sheer number); sense 2 stresses that the cause or feeling was unmixed and on its own (sheer luck = luck and only luck). Pairs almost exclusively with abstract nouns naming a feeling, quality, or single cause.
常見錯誤
3. describing a slope, wall of rock, or drop that is so steep it falls almost strai
陡峭的
幾乎垂直、近乎筆直落下
describing a slope, wall of rock, or drop that is so steep it falls almost straight down, like the side of a tall building.
Wei stepped back from the sheer cliff and took a long, careful breath.
Wei 從陡峭的懸崖邊退了一步，慢慢深吸一口氣。
sheer cliff (typical noun)
Rope marks scarred the sheer rock face above the climbers' camp.
登山者營地上方那面陡峭的岩壁，被繩索磨出了一道道痕跡。
sheer rock face / wall
Heloísa's village sits at the bottom of a sheer drop into the valley.
Heloísa 的村子坐落在一道直落山谷的陡峭斷崖底下。
The road climbed past sheer walls of black volcanic stone for several miles.
公路沿著一道道陡峭的黑色火山岩壁向上爬了好幾英里。
- vertical
more neutral and technical; describes geometry rather than visual impact
- precipitous
formal; emphasises sudden steepness and danger
用法筆記
Mostly used before nouns naming physical drops or vertical surfaces: cliff, drop, face, wall. Predicative use ('the slope was sheer') is possible but rare.
4. describing fabric, curtains, or stockings that are made so thin and light that l
輕薄透明的
布料極薄，光可穿透、隱約可見
describing fabric, curtains, or stockings that are made so thin and light that light easily passes through and you can partly see what is behind them.
Tara hung sheer white curtains so the morning sun could fill the kitchen.
Tara 掛上輕薄透明的白窗簾，讓晨光灑滿整間廚房。
sheer curtains (typical collocation)
The dancer wore a long dress with sheer sleeves over a pale silk lining.
舞者穿著一件長禮服，輕薄透明的袖子下襯著淡色絲質內襯。
sheer sleeves / panels (clothing)
Ignacio's grandmother kept her wedding photo behind a sheer lace veil.
Ignacio 的奶奶把結婚照收在一層輕薄透明的蕾絲面紗後面。
Boxes of sheer black stockings filled the bottom shelf of the small shop.
小店最底層的架子上擺滿了一盒盒輕薄透明的黑色絲襪。
- transparent
wider; covers glass, plastic, and any see-through material, not just fabric
- diaphanous
literary; suggests light, floating, almost cloud-like cloth
用法筆記
Used almost only of textiles, hosiery, and curtains. Frequent collocates: curtains, fabric, stockings, tights, sleeves, veil, blouse.
sheer — 動詞
1. of a ship, vehicle, or animal: to turn quickly and sharply away from the line it
突然轉向
船、車、動物急轉避開原本路線
of a ship, vehicle, or animal: to turn quickly and sharply away from the line it was following, often to avoid hitting something.
The yacht sheered sharply to port when Lakan spotted the rocks ahead.
Lakan 看到前方有礁石時，遊艇猛然往左舷急轉。
sheer + adverb of direction (to port, away)
A frightened deer sheered off into the trees as the engine roared past.
引擎呼嘯而過時，一隻受驚的鹿突然轉向，竄進了樹林裡。
sheer off (turn away suddenly)
Captain Nicholas ordered the boat to sheer away from the busy ferry lane.
Nicholas 船長下令船隻轉向，避開繁忙的渡輪航道。
The wind hit the sail hard and the small dinghy sheered to one side.
風用力打在帆上，那艘小船突然往一邊偏了過去。
文法句型
sheer + away/off/aside
用法筆記
Mainly nautical or literary; intransitive only and almost always followed by an adverb such as 'off', 'away', 'aside', or 'to one side'. Bare 'the boat sheered' is unusual without a direction.
常見錯誤
sheer — 名詞
1. a piece of cloth woven so thinly and lightly that you can see through it, used f
薄紗布
輕薄、可透光的布料或窗簾
a piece of cloth woven so thinly and lightly that you can see through it, used for items like curtains, scarves, or blouses.
Sofia draped a pale blue sheer over the bedroom window for soft morning light.
Sofia 在臥室窗前掛上一片淡藍色的薄紗布，讓晨光柔柔地透進來。
a sheer (countable; piece of fabric)
The shop sold silk sheers in every shade between cream and rose.
那家店賣絲質薄紗布，從米白到玫瑰紅每種色調都有。
plural 'sheers' for items of see-through cloth
Layla's wedding gown had two sheers layered over a satin underskirt.
Layla 的婚紗在緞質內裙外，疊了兩層薄紗布。
The tailor sewed a thin sheer onto the edge of the cotton scarf.
裁縫師在那條棉質圍巾的邊緣縫上了一層薄紗布。
用法筆記
Far less common than the adjective; mostly seen in interior-design and fashion contexts. Plural 'sheers' (light curtains) is more frequent than the singular.
sheer — 副詞
1. in a way that goes straight up or straight down without bending, breaking, or sl
筆直地
垂直向上或向下，沒有彎折
in a way that goes straight up or straight down without bending, breaking, or sloping — used to describe how a cliff, wall, or fall reaches from one level to another.
The granite walls rose sheer above the path that wound around the lake.
花崗岩岩壁筆直地聳立在繞著湖邊的小徑上方。
rise sheer (typical verb pairing)
From the lighthouse, the cliff dropped sheer into the dark waves below.
從燈塔望去，那道懸崖筆直地落入下方黑色的浪濤裡。
drop sheer + into [destination]
Ice fell sheer down the mountainside after the climbers fired a flare.
登山者發出信號彈後，冰塊從山壁筆直地滾落下來。
Behind the old monastery, the slope dropped sheer for nearly a hundred metres.
舊修道院後方的山坡筆直地往下落了將近一百公尺。
- perpendicularly
technical; emphasises a 90-degree angle
- vertically
neutral; everyday word for straight up-or-down motion
文法句型
verb + sheer + adverbial of direction (up/down)
用法筆記
Found mostly in formal or literary writing about landscapes. Pairs with verbs of vertical motion: rise, drop, fall, descend. In everyday speech, 'straight up' or 'straight down' is more natural.