STEADINESS

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does steadiness mean? 

• STEADINESS (noun)
  The noun STEADINESS has 3 senses:

1. freedom from wavering or indecision; constancy of resolve or conduct

2. the quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place

3. the quality of being steady--regular and unvarying

  Familiarity information: STEADINESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STEADINESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Freedom from wavering or indecision; constancy of resolve or conduct

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

He trusted her clear steadiness that she would do what she said

Hypernyms ("steadiness" is a kind of...):

firmness; firmness of purpose; resoluteness; resolution; resolve (the trait of being resolute)

Derivation:

steady (marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

firmness; steadiness

Hypernyms ("steadiness" is a kind of...):

immovability; immovableness (not capable of being moved or rearranged)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "steadiness"):

granite (something having the quality of granite (unyielding firmness))

sureness (the quality of being steady and unfailing)

stability; stableness (the quality or attribute of being firm and steadfast)

Antonym:

unsteadiness (the quality of not being steady or securely fixed in place)

Derivation:

steady (securely in position; not shaky)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The quality of being steady--regular and unvarying

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("steadiness" is a kind of...):

regularity (the quality of being characterized by a fixed principle or rate)

Antonym:

unsteadiness (the quality of being unsteady--varying and unpredictable)

Derivation:

steady (not subject to change or variation especially in behavior)

 Context examples 

Mr. Crawford's steadiness was honoured, and Fanny was praised, and the connexion was still the most desirable in the world.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

The shortness of his visit, the steadiness of his purpose in leaving them, originated in the same fettered inclination, the same inevitable necessity of temporizing with his mother.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

“The old shikari’s nerves have not lost their steadiness, nor his eyes their keenness,” said he, with a laugh, as he inspected the shattered forehead of his bust.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There, he had learnt to distinguish between the steadiness of principle and the obstinacy of self-will, between the darings of heedlessness and the resolution of a collected mind.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

She played and sang;—and drew in almost every style; but steadiness had always been wanting; and in nothing had she approached the degree of excellence which she would have been glad to command, and ought not to have failed of.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

But I had voluntarily stripped myself of all those balancing instincts by which even the worst of us continues to walk with some degree of steadiness among temptations; and in my case, to be tempted, however slightly, was to fall.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Had she been older or vainer, such attacks might have done little; but, where youth and diffidence are united, it requires uncommon steadiness of reason to resist the attraction of being called the most charming girl in the world, and of being so very early engaged as a partner; and the consequence was that, when the two Morlands, after sitting an hour with the Thorpes, set off to walk together to Mr. Allen's, and James, as the door was closed on them, said, Well, Catherine, how do you like my friend Thorpe?

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The display on both sides, the quickness of the one and the steadiness of the other, had excited the partisan spirit of the crowd, and the men were making new bets and increasing original bets.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Having never even fancied herself in love before, her regard had all the warmth of first attachment, and, from her age and disposition, greater steadiness than most first attachments often boast; and so fervently did she value his remembrance, and prefer him to every other man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets which must have been injurious to her own health and their tranquillity.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

There was a charm, perhaps, in his sincerity, his steadiness, his integrity, which Miss Crawford might be equal to feel, though not equal to discuss with herself.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)