adjective / adverb
sheer
Straight or almost straight up or down.
The cliff drops sheer into the sea.
Etymology
Sheer developed emphatic senses such as absolute or unqualified. Applied to a drop or rise, it stresses the direct, nearly vertical extent.
More examples
- They faced a sheer rock wall.
- A sheer slope rose above the trail.
- The path ended at a sheer drop.
Forms
sheer · sheerer · sheerest
Similar words
- vertical
- Exactly upright.
- precipitous
- Very steep and often dangerously abrupt.