Sheer or shear?
What’s the difference, and how can you remember to always use the right one?
Below is a transcript of the video.
Here’s a pair of words I often see confused. Sheer with two E’s, and shear with an A.
So what’s the difference, and how can you remember to always use the right one?
Well, probably the first thing to say is that 9 times out of 10 the word you are looking for is sheer with two E’s because it’s got several meanings. Shear with an A is generally only used in one sense, so let’s get that one out of the way.
Shear with an a means ‘to cut’. For example, ‘the farmer sheared his sheep each spring’. In other words, the farmer trimmed the wool from his sheep. Now you would use this spelling too to talk about a set of garden shears, and that gives us a way to remember this meaning of shear. The A in shear looks like a set of garden shears.
So unless you are referring to something being cut you should always use sheer with two E’s.
Let’s look at some examples.
Sheer with two E’s has a variety of meanings. Let’s look at the most common.
First of all it’s used to describe material that’s thin and delicate. For example, ‘the sun was shining through the sheer curtains’. In other words, the curtains were diaphanous.
Now you might also use it of something that is extremely steep, almost vertical. For example, ‘It was a sheer drop over the mountainside’.
But probably the most common use of sheer is as an intensifier, meaning something like utter, complete, or extreme. For example, ‘we met by sheer chance’, in other words, it was a total chance that we met.
Or, ‘As a student, I was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of people’s expectations’, in other words, I was overwhelmed by the huge weight of people’s expectations.
So there you go! Remember those garden shears in the shape of an a, and use shear with an A if, and pretty much only if, you are talking about cutting something. For all other uses, plump for sheer with two E’s.
I’m Dr. Clare Lynch of Doris and Bertie. If you like this video, subscribe to the channel, hit the like button, and share it with your friends.
For more writing advice, enrol in my online course, Writing With Confidence, available at the Doris and Bertie Writing School.
