[Vocabulary] steep vs. sheer

[spongie]

What's the difference between steep and sheer? If there's any.

 

[charliedeut]

Hi,

Have you checked any dictionaries first?

charliedeut

 

[spongie]

I have and I'm still confused.

 

[5jj]

I have and I'm still confused.

Understandable. I tried several online dictionaries, and some of them are not too clear.

'sheer' is extremely steep, approaching or even actually perpendicular. A car can go up a steep hill, if it is not too steep. Only a skilled climber can go up a sheer cliff or rock face.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's a difficult one. I think the nuance is in the usage and our learnt understanding. For me, an sheer uphill slope would be very, very steep (as 5jj said, almost perpendicular). However, when standing at the top of a cliff and saying "Wow, that's a sheer drop", I always mean that it really is a straight, perpendicular drop to the ground.

 

[spongie]

Thank you 5jj and emsr2d2. It's clearer to me now.