shorn

Verb

shear (third-person singular simple present shears, present participle shearing, simple past sheared or shore, past participle shorn or sheared)

1. (intransitive, transitive) To remove the fleece from (a sheep, llama, etc.) by clipping.
   • shear the llamas

   Synonyms:

   fleece

2. To cut the hair of (a person).
   • shear the afro off someone's head
3. To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
   • So trenchant was the Templar’s weapon, that it shore asunder, as it had been a willow twig, the tough and plaited handle of the mace, which the ill-fated Saxon reared to parry the blow, and, descending on his head, levelled him with the earth.1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe
4. To deform because of forces pushing in opposite directions.
5. (intransitive) To change in direction or speed.
   • The total along-the-runway wind component sheared from an 8-knot headwind to about a 56-knot tailwind over a 44-second period.1985 March 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.3 Airplane Takeoff Performance”, in Aircraft Accident Report: United Airlines Flight 663, Boeing 727-222, N7647U, Denver, Colorado, May 31...
6. To transform by displacing every point in a direction parallel to some given line by a distance proportional to the point’s distance from the line.

See all 19 meanings of shear