adjective
sheer
So thin that light passes through.
Light passes through the sheer curtain.
Etymology
The older adjective concerns clearness. With fabric, that clear quality became translucence: the material is thin enough to let light through.
More examples
- She wore a scarf of sheer silk.
- The windows had sheer fabric panels.
- The material was too sheer to provide privacy.
Forms
sheer · sheerer · sheerest
sheerness noun — the quality of being thin and translucent
Similar words
- transparent
- Easy to see through, not necessarily thin fabric.
- diaphanous
- A more literary term for light, translucent fabric.