Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
sheerly. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
sheerly, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
sheerly in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
sheerly you have here. The definition of the word
sheerly will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
sheerly, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English schyrly, equivalent to sheer + -ly.
Adverb
sheerly (comparative more sheerly, superlative most sheerly)
- Absolutely; purely; quite.
1988 October 21, George Grass, “WagnerVision”, in Chicago Reader:On a sheerly technical plane, the projections used for the backgrounds were very effective, particularly in the third act, where a sunset faded most convincingly.
- At a very steep angle; precipitously.
1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 238:The pit dropped sheerly from my feet, but a little way along, the rubbish afforded a practicable slope to the summit of the ruins.
- (obsolete) At once.