What's the difference between main and sheer?

Main


Definition:

  • (n.) A hand or match at dice.
  • (n.) A stake played for at dice.
  • (n.) The largest throw in a match at dice; a throw at dice within given limits, as in the game of hazard.
  • (n.) A match at cockfighting.
  • (n.) A main-hamper.
  • (v.) Strength; force; might; violent effort.
  • (v.) The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing.
  • (v.) The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc. ; the high sea; the ocean.
  • (v.) The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland.
  • (v.) principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as, a fire main.
  • (a.) Very or extremely strong.
  • (a.) Vast; huge.
  • (a.) Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer.
  • (a.) Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.
  • (a.) Important; necessary.
  • (a.) Very; extremely; as, main heavy.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) In conclusion, the efficacy of free tissue transfer in the treatment of osteomyelitis is geared mainly at enabling the surgeon to perform a wide radical debridement of infected and nonviable soft tissue and bone.
  • (2) Aggregation was more frequent in low-osmolal media: mainly rouleaux were formed in ioxaglate but irregular aggregates in non-ionic media.
  • (3) The main clinical features pertaining to the concept of the "psycho-organic syndrome" (POS) were investigated in a sample of children who suffered from severe craniocerebral trauma.
  • (4) Squadron Leader Kevin Harris, commander of the Merlins at Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand, praised the crews, adding: "The Merlins will undergo an extensive programme of maintenance and cleaning before being packed up, ensuring they return to the UK in good order."
  • (5) The main finding of this study is that diabetic adolescents with a high erythrocyte Na,Li countertransport rate have an arterial pressure significantly higher than patients with normal Na,Li countertransport fluxes.
  • (6) We also show that the gene of the main capsid protein is expressed from its own promoter in an Escherichia coli strain.
  • (7) In schizophrenic patients the density of dopamine uptake sites in the basal ganglia was slightly reduced, mainly in the middle third of putamen.
  • (8) One of the main users is coastal planning organizations and conservation organizations that are working on coral reefs.
  • (9) Immunofluorescence analysis of Pr-28 antigen showed that the antigen was localized mainly in perinuclear cytoplasm.
  • (10) The main result of the correspondence analysis is a geometric map of this relationship showing how the relative frequencies of headache types change with age.
  • (11) Myocardial ischaemia was induced in perfused rabbit hearts by ligating the left main coronary artery.
  • (12) Thus, human bronchial epithelial cells can express the IL-8 gene, with expression in response to the inflammatory mediator TNF regulated mainly at the transcriptional level, and with elements within the 5'-flanking region of the gene that are directly or indirectly modulated by the TNF signal.
  • (13) Statistically significant differences were found mainly in the randomized trial, where during the first and second years, respectively, adenoidectomy subjects had 47% and 37% less time with otitis media than control subjects and 28% and 35% fewer suppurative (acute) episodes than control subjects.
  • (14) One of the main components was confirmed to be caffeic acid which had inhibitory effect on renal failure in mice by Ac1-P.
  • (15) In four main regions the conservation varied from 83-91% while in the remaining regions the homology dropped to between 56-62%.
  • (16) In the caudal spinal trigeminal nucleus (Vc), the collaterals of one half of the periodontium afferent fibers terminated mainly in lamina V at the rostral and middle levels of Vc.
  • (17) Loratadine has one main metabolite, descarbethoxyloratadine, which is four times more active than the parent drug.
  • (18) The structures of 1 and 2 were established mainly on the basis of nmr spectroscopic data.
  • (19) The main clinical symptom was pain, usually sciatica, while neurological symptoms were less common than they are in adults.
  • (20) Possibilities to achieve this both in the curative and the preventive field are restricted mainly due to the insufficient knowledge of their etiopathogenesis.

Sheer


Definition:

  • (v. i.) Bright; clear; pure; unmixed.
  • (v. i.) Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer muslin.
  • (v. i.) Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere; downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense.
  • (v. i.) Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular.
  • (adv.) Clean; quite; at once.
  • (v. t.) To shear.
  • (v. i.) To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a horse sheers at a bicycle.
  • (n.) The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck, gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from the side.
  • (n.) The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and swinging clear of it.
  • (n.) A turn or change in a course.
  • (n.) Shears See Shear.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Problems associated with school-based clinics include vehement opposition to sex education, financing, and the sheer magnitude of the adolescents' health needs.
  • (2) They argue that the US, the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases per capita (China recently surpassed us in sheer volume), needs to lead the fight to limit carbon emissions, rather continuing to block global treaties as it has done in the past.
  • (3) But with the advantages and attractions that Scotland already has, and, more importantly, taking into account the morale boost, the sheer energisation of a whole people that would come about because we would finally have our destiny at least largely back in our own hands again – I think we could do it.
  • (4) Obviously, the sheer number of lasers being used both clinically and experimentally indicates a great potential for further advancement and refinement in technique and surgical outcomes.
  • (5) I was amazed by the sheer scale of the operation, easily mistaken for a full military assault on a kraken.
  • (6) We can inhabit only one version of being human – the only version that survives today – but what is fascinating is that palaeoanthropology shows us those other paths to becoming human, their successes and their eventual demise, whether through failure or just sheer bad luck.
  • (7) The report, extracts of which were published by the investigative news website Exaro , is said to include “devastating detail” of the corporation’s “sheer scale of awareness” of the late star’s activities.
  • (8) There is a policy review process, a manifesto and the small matter of winning another election between here and catastrophe, but the sheer barbarism of the outlined idea is breathtaking.
  • (9) Back in the 1970s, a severe economic crisis revealed the sheer unsustainability of government policies.
  • (10) So we started asking them ridiculous questions about being single," says Lucas, "and the sheer number of misunderstandings about each other's lives felt like comedic material."
  • (11) He skirted round the issue of historic responsibility for the misery but referred to the sheer scale of the sacrifice, pointing out that, among more than 14,000 parishes in the whole of England and Wales, only about 50 so-called "thankful parishes" saw all their soldiers return.
  • (12) But all that has changed since I discovered the sheer joy of hunting down items with “reduced” stickers at my local Waitrose.
  • (13) TUC general secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the letters, which argue against the Conservative party's position that the sheer scale of the UK deficit means public spending must be cut immediately.
  • (14) This year though, the annual fest of tit tape, weepy self-congratulation and sheer star power will be remembered for more than a frock faux pas: there was a serious cock-up .
  • (15) Brown, from Sheerness in Kent, who was to earn £15,000 a year from the role, has apologised for causing offence with the messages she posted between the ages of 14 and 16.
  • (16) I hope that people feel inspired enough, maybe in the sheer face of loss, to just do what they should be doing in life.
  • (17) David Winnick, the MP for Walsall North, said: "None of [May's] excuses can explain away the sheer incompetence and shambles that have occurred on her watch."
  • (18) Through combination with a spherical disc face perpendicular to the axis of rotation, which protrudes only slightly from the hemispherical catheter tip, with a maximum at the center and minimum at the lateral borders, the lathing head has only a slight risk of perforation and no undesired sheering forces (Figures 2a to 2d).
  • (19) Redwoods are taller, but giant sequoias win for sheer mass: the General Sherman's trunk has a volume of 1,487 cubic metres and is estimated to weigh over 2,000 tonnes.
  • (20) "Some of you may have heard we have a new judge this year," said Forsyth, summoning his finest brow-raise and hauling the audience at least temporarily on side by sheer force of showbiz will.