Talk:sheer

The case of a sheer curtain
Would "sheer" be defined in noun, or adjective ? --Jerome Potts 03:52, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
 * In your byspel: adjectiv --AnWulf ... Ferþu Hal! 23:43, 30 November 2011 (UTC)

Collocations of sheer

 * 1) 		 SHEER NUMBER 	341 	D
 * 2) 		 SHEER SIZE 	311 	D
 * 3) 		 SHEER NUMBERS 	283 	D
 * 4) 		 SHEER VOLUME 	256 	D
 * 5) 		 SHEER FORCE 	189 	D
 * 6) 		 SHEER JOY   	113 	P
 * 7) 		 SHEER SCALE 	95 	    D
 * 8) 		 SHEER PLEASURE 90 	    P
 * 9) 		 SHEER TERROR 	90 	    P
 * 10) 		 SHEER WEIGHT 	87 	    D
 * 11) 		 SHEER CLIFFS 	72 	    G
 * 12) 		 SHEER WILL 	66 	    P
 * 13) 		 SHEER ROCK 	63 	    G
 * 14) 		 SHEER BEAUTY 	62 	    P
 * 15) 		 SHEER LUCK 	62 	    C
 * 16) 		 SHEER POWER 	62 	    D
 * 17) 		 SHEER MAGNITUDE 	61 	D
 * 18) 		 SHEER AMOUNT 	54 	    D
 * 19) 		 SHEER CLIFF 	54 	    G
 * 20) 		 SHEER DROP 	49 	    G
 * 21) 		 SHEER DETERMINATION 	47 	P
 * 22) 		 SHEER QUANTITY 	44 	D
 * 23) 		 SHEER COINCIDENCE 	34 	C
 * 24) 		 SHEER STRENGTH 	34 	D?
 * 25) 		 SHEER WALLS 	34 	    G
 * 26) 		 SHEER CURTAINS 	32 	T
 * 27) 		 SHEER DELIGHT 	32 	    P
 * 28) 		 SHEER EXHAUSTION 	31 	P
 * 29) 		 SHEER PANIC 	31 	    P
 * 30) 		 SHEER WILLPOWER 	30 	P
 * 31) 		 SHEER VARIETY 	29 	    P
 * 32) 		 SHEER FUN 	28 	        P
 * 33) 		 SHEER SCOPE 	28 	    D
 * 34) 		 SHEER MASS 	27 	    D
 * 35) 		 SHEER WALL 	27 	    G
 * 36) 		 SHEER SPEED 	25 	    D
 * 37) 		 SHEER CHANCE 	24 	    C
 * 38) 		 SHEER ENERGY 	23 	    P
 * 39) 		 SHEER GRANITE 	23 	    G
 * 40) 		 SHEER AUDACITY 	22 	P
 * 41) 		 SHEER BULK 	22 	    D
 * 42) 		 SHEER COMPLEXITY 	22 	D?
 * 43) 		 SHEER EXCITEMENT 	22 	P
 * 44) 		 SHEER FACT 	22 	    P?
 * 45) 		 SHEER HORROR 	22 	    P
 * 46) 		 SHEER LOVE 	22 	    P
 * 47) 		 SHEER NONSENSE 	22 	P
 * 48) 		 SHEER ACCIDENT 	21 	C
 * 49) 		 SHEER DESPERATION 	21 	P
 * 50) 		 SHEER FABRIC 	21 	T
 * 51) 		 SHEER MADNESS 	21 	P
 * 52) 		 SHEER ABUNDANCE 	20  D
 * 53) 		 SHEER EFFORT 	20 	P
 * 54) 		 SHEER GENIUS 	20 	P
 * 55) 		 SHEER STUPIDITY 	20 	P
 * 56) 		 SHEER SURVIVAL 	20 	P
 * 57) 		 SHEER BLISS 	19 	P
 * 58) 		 SHEER PRESENCE 	19 	 P
 * 59) 		 SHEER INTENSITY 	18 	P
 * 60) 		 SHEER ENORMITY 	17 	P
 * 61) 		 SHEER FACE 	17 	G
 * 62) 		 SHEER IGNORANCE 	17 	P
 * 63) 		 SHEER PERSISTENCE 	17 	P
 * 64) 		 SHEER PHYSICALITY 	17 	P
 * 65) 		 SHEER BRILLIANCE 	16 	P
 * 66) 		 SHEER DIFFICULTY 	16 	P
 * 67) 		 SHEER ENJOYMENT 	16 	P
 * 68) 		 SHEER SILK 	16 	T
 * 69) 		 SHEER BOREDOM 	15 	P
 * 70) 		 SHEER BREADTH 	15 	D?
 * 71) 		 SHEER FANTASY 	15 	P
 * 72) 		 SHEER FRUSTRATION 	15 	P
 * 73) 		 SHEER LACK 	15 	 ?
 * 74) 		 SHEER LINE 	15 	?
 * 75) 		 SHEER SPECULATION 	15 	P
 * 76) 		 SHEER DRAMA 	14 	P
 * 77) 		 SHEER EXHILARATION 	14 	P
 * 78) 		 SHEER EXUBERANCE 	14 	 P
 * 79) 		 SHEER MOMENTUM 	14 	 P
 * 80) 		 SHEER TALENT 	14 	 P
 * 81) 		 SHEER BRAVADO 	13 	 P
 * 82) 		 SHEER BRUTALITY 	13  P
 * 83) 		 SHEER CHIFFON 	13 	 T
 * 84) 		 SHEER CURTAIN 	13 	 T
 * 85) 		 SHEER GUTS 	13 	 P
 * 86) 		 SHEER HELL 	13 	 P
 * 87) 		 SHEER NOVELTY 	13 	 P
 * 88) 		 SHEER DROPS 	12 	 G
 * 89) 		 SHEER FOLLY 	12 	 P
 * 90) 		 SHEER GROWTH 	12 	 P
 * 91) 		 SHEER LUNACY 	12 	 P
 * 92) 		 SHEER REPETITION 	12  P
 * 93) 		 SHEER THRILL 	12 	P
 * 94) 		 SHEER ARROGANCE 	11 	 P
 * 95) 		 SHEER COLOR 	11 	 P
 * 96) 		 SHEER COST 	11 	 D
 * 97) 		 SHEER FABRICS 	11 	 T
 * 98) 		 SHEER IDIOCY 	11 	 P
 * 99) 		 SHEER MATERIAL 	11  T
 * 100)    	 SHEER RANGE 	11 	DP?
 * TOTAL 	4023
 * G (geology) 351
 * T (textiles) 121
 * C (contingency) 141
 * "lack"
 * D degree (quantity)
 * P pure?

Frequency of nouns following "sheer" at COCA. DCDuring TALK 04:30, 3 February 2016 (UTC)

RFV discussion: January–September 2016
Definiton 3: "Being only what it seems to be; mere."

Is this an actual definition, or is it an attempt at defining the same sense that definition 5, "Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something", does? The usage examples don't seem to fit the definition at any rate, and I think neither definitions 3 nor 5 are very good. I think something like "Pure, downright," etc. better capture the actual meaning. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 06:06, 31 January 2016 (UTC)
 * I"ll go ahead and make the changes I see fit if no one objects. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 01:30, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
 * You do need to make sure that the wording of your proposed definition does not overlap with that of definition 2, the obsolete one. DCDuring TALK 02:10, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I will do so. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 02:21, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
 * Senses 3 and 5 appear to be elaborations of sense 2. Of the two, sense 5 is worded better, but it's still basically the same as sense 2 IMO, and all three should probably be combined.  P Aculeius (talk) 04:10, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I would say that senses 3 and 5 are more accurately extensions of sense 2, not the same as it. The usage examples given for the latter don't seem to fit under the modern senses of the word, and someone describing ale or a fountain as "sheer" would probably not be readily understood. I'll probably rearrange the order of the definitions. I'll hold off on doing so until this discussion seems to be over, however. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 04:36, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
 * Let's not be too dismissive of the definitions, despite what seems like awkward wording. The definitions are 100+ years old, from Webster 1913, perhaps earlier. The words used in the definitions are probably less used or have shifted meanings a bit. DCDuring TALK 10:33, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I'm not dismissing them, just saying that they all seem to be getting at the same thing, and it's not clear that the examples have truly separable meanings. For example, in perhaps the most familiar phrase, "sheer genius," does the speaker mean "pure genius" (sense 2), "mere genius" (as in nothing but, sense 3), or "extensive genius" (sense 5)?  All seem equally applicable, and it's very doubtful that most speakers intend only one of them, excluding the others.  The phrase (and many similar constructions) are generally used without putting that degree of thought into the meaning of "sheer".  I also don't think that sense 2 is obsolete, to the extent that "pure" is taken in its metaphorical sense, since that seems to be fairly close to the meaning of phrases like "sheer genius," "sheer madness," "sheer brilliance," "sheer inspiration," "sheer majesty," and soforth.  P Aculeius (talk) 04:30, 4 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I have rewritten the RFV'd definition. I did use the word, which overlaps a bit with the obsolete sense, but I added further clarification in that one ("pure" just seemed like the best word to use for both senses.) Feel free to make improvements. Andrew Sheedy (talk) 02:10, 8 February 2016 (UTC)
 * It looks much better to me, but I no longer have fresh eyes with which to evaluate the entry. DCDuring TALK 16:56, 8 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Resolved: RFV tag removed by the nominator. —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 20:22, 4 September 2016 (UTC)