Archaic literary term describing a cliff or mountain face that is extremely steep, almost vertical. Not used in modern everyday Japanese; encountered mainly in classical poetry or old geographical descriptions.
A sheer cliff rose before my eyes.
The mountain is so precipitous that it does not allow climbing.
Standard modern noun for 'sheer cliff' or 'precipice', neutral and widely understood.
Archaic kanji spelling for a steep, sheer cliff; both 嶄 and 絶 are rare characters.
Variant kanji spelling; 巉 is a rare character meaning steep or precipitous.
The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 嶄 and 巉 both carry meanings of steepness and height, and 絶 suggests extremity, together forming a classical compound for extreme steepness.