head-on vs sheer

head-on

noun
  • A collision from the front. 

adj
  • Of a collision, from the front or in the direction of motion. 

  • Direct, abrupt, blunt or unequivocal; not prevaricating. 

adv
  • With the front of a vehicle. 

  • With direct confrontation. 

sheer

noun
  • An abrupt swerve from the course of a ship. 

  • A sheer curtain or fabric. 

  • The curve of the main deck or gunwale from bow to stern. 

adj
  • Used to emphasize the amount or degree of something. 

  • Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular. 

  • Downright; complete; pure. 

  • Very thin or transparent. 

verb
  • To swerve from a course. 

How often have the words head-on and sheer occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )