Meaning & use
sheer fabric
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
Cloth so thin and light that you can see through it or see the shape of what lies behind it.
Grammar: Uncountable for the material (sheer fabric is delicate); countable for kinds (silk and nylon are sheer fabrics).
Patterns
- made of sheer fabric
- a layer of sheer fabric
Sheer fabric over the window lets in light but keeps the room private.
The dress had sleeves made of sheer fabric, which gave it a delicate look.
Be careful washing sheer fabric, because it snags easily.
Word forms
| plural | sheer fabrics |
|---|
Common combinations
- a panel of sheer fabric
- A panel of sheer fabric hung across the doorway.
- drape sheer fabric
- She draped sheer fabric over the bed frame.
- made of sheer fabric
- The scarf is made of sheer fabric and weighs almost nothing.
- layer sheer fabric
- Designers often layer sheer fabric over a plain slip.
- delicate sheer fabric
- Delicate sheer fabric should be washed by hand.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gauze
- It is a loose, open weave, often cotton, while sheer fabric describes any thin see-through cloth.
- chiffon
- It names one specific light, floaty fabric rather than the see-through quality in general.
- voile
- It is a fine, soft cloth often used for curtains and is a particular kind of sheer fabric.
- transparent material
- It suggests you can see clearly through it, while sheer fabric is usually only partly see-through.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sheer fabric or shear?
sheer fabric vs shear
Shear means to cut wool from a sheep, and it sounds the same as sheer. Sheer is the spelling for see-through cloth.
Practice
The curtains were made of sheer fabric, so the room was ____.
Choose one answer.
Sheer fabric is thin and see-through, so it lets daylight in. Completely dark would need heavy, opaque cloth.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sheer fabric”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.