Reference: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861735549
Do not confuse the spelling of shear and sheer, which sound similar.
Shear is chiefly used as a verb, meaning "remove something with a sharp tool," "deprive somebody of something valuable" (as in shear them of their self-respect), or "deform or break by a twisting force": The head of the bolt has sheared off. Shears is a plural noun denoting a cutting tool.
The most commonly used word spelled sheer is chiefly used as an adjective, meaning "complete and utter," "vertical," or "thin and almost transparent" (as in sheer folly, a sheer drop, sheer fabric). Another sheer is primarily a verb, meaning "swerve from a course": The boat sheered away, narrowly avoiding a collision. A third sheer is a nautical term referring to the upward curve of a boat's hull.
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