# sheer vs shell

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sheer
*adjective · IPA /ˈʃɪə/ · frequency rank #7,060*
Very thin or transparent.

### shell
*noun · IPA /ʃɛl/ · frequency rank #3,726*
A hard external covering of an animal.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sheer-vs-shell