Master confusing words with ease
Shear vs. Sheer
Shear
/ʃɪə/Examples:
The farmer had to shear the flock before summer.Without the proper tools, trying to shear the sheep became a task.In spring, it's customary to shear the wool from alpacas.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sheer
/ʃɪə/Examples:
By sheer audacity.It was sheer jugglery of fate.The first side is, sheer Insolence.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- "Shear" often involves cutting, like when you shear sheep for their wool.
- "Sheer" can describe something very thin or almost transparent, like sheer fabric.
- "Sheer" can also mean steep or absolute, such as a sheer cliff or sheer determination.
- Remember that the extra e in "sheer" might remind you of a cliff's edge, or of elegance, hinting at transparency or steepness.
- "Shear" with its single e is a straightforward word, much like the direct act of cutting.
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