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Transparent vs Sheer - What's the difference?

transparent | sheer |

As adjectives the difference between transparent and sheer

is that transparent is see-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly while sheer is very thin or transparent.

As an adverb sheer is

clean; quite; at once.

As a noun sheer is

the curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern.

As a verb sheer is

to swerve from a course.

transparent

English

(wikipedia transparent)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (of a material or object) See-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly.
    • The waters of the lake were transparent until the factory dumped wastes there.
  • * 1897, , chapter 19,
    • "You make the glass invisible by putting it into a liquid of nearly the same refractive index; a transparent thing becomes invisible if it is put in any medium of almost the same refractive index."
  • (of a system or organization) Open]], public; having the property that theories and practices are publicly visible, thereby [[reduce, reducing the chance of corruption.
  • Obvious; readily apparent; easy to see or understand.
    • His reasons for the decision were transparent .

    Usage notes

    * The term (translucent) is similar in meaning, but describes a material or object that diffuses light as it passes through. Looking through a transparent'' substance (such as a window), one can recognize objects on the other side. Looking through a ''translucent substance (such as frosted glass), one cannot see objects clearly, only light and shadow.

    Synonyms

    * see-through, diaphanous, clear, crystalline, limpid * (obvious) apparent, clear, obvious

    Antonyms

    * opaque * (obvious) obscure, opaque

    Derived terms

    * transparently * nontransparent

    Related terms

    * transparency * transparently * transparentness

    Coordinate terms

    * translucent

    sheer

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), (m), (m), (m), from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • (textiles) Very thin or transparent.
  • * '>citation
  • (obsolete) Pure; unmixed.
  • * Shakespeare
    • sheer ale
  • * Shakespeare
    • Thou sheer , immaculate, and silver fountain.
  • Being only what it seems to be; mere.
  • * 2012 , July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track
    • Cycling's complex etiquette contains an unwritten rule that riders in contention for a race win should not be penalised for sheer misfortune.
  • Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular.
  • Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something.
  • *
    • , title=The Mirror and the Lamp , chapter=2 citation , passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired. And if the arts of humbleness failed him, he overcame you by sheer impudence.}}
  • * 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
    • Perhaps as startling as the sheer toll was the devastation to some of the state’s well-known locales. Boardwalks along the beach in Seaside Heights, Belmar and other towns on the Jersey Shore were blown away. Amusement parks, arcades and restaurants all but vanished. Bridges to barrier islands buckled, preventing residents from even inspecting the damage to their property.
    Synonyms
    * (very thin or transparent) diaphanous, see-through, thin * downright, mere, pure, undiluted, unmitigated * (straight up and down) perpendicular, steep, vertical

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (archaic) clean; quite; at once.
    • (Milton)

    Etymology 2

    ; see also (m).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nautical) The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern.
  • (nautical) An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • (chiefly, nautical) To swerve from a course.
    • A horse sheers at a bicycle.
  • * 1899 ,
    • I sheered her well inshore—the water being deepest near the bank, as the sounding–pole informed me.
  • (obsolete) To shear.
    • (Dryden)

    References

    (Webster 1913)

    Anagrams

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