I. ˈstedē, -di, dial ˈstid- also ˈstəd- adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: stead (I) + -y
1.
a. : firm in standing or position : not tottering or shaking : fixed
holding the box steady on his shoulder with the other hand — Pearl Buck
b. : direct or sure in movement or action
with hinged knees and steady hand to dress wounds — Walt Whitman
: unfaltering , unswerving
gave him a steady look — Margaret Deland
took steady aim
c. : keeping nearly upright in a seaway : not easily tipped by an external force — used of a ship; compare crank , stiff IX 7
d. : serving to hold firm : steadying
a steady bearing
2.
a. : marked by an even development, movement, or action : not varying in quality, intensity, or direction : regular , uniform
a steady pace
a steady breeze
a steady light
: not changed, replaced, or interrupted : continuous , uninterrupted
from then on it was a steady fight against misfortune — S.H.Adams
continued to produce a steady output of books — Evelyn G. Cruickshanks
a steady job
a steady girl friend
b. : showing little variation : recording little change in the weather
the glass was steady and the weather good with fair visibility — H.A.Chippendale
c. : not fluctuating or varying widely (as in price) : stable
cattle were steady to off 25 cents per hundredweight — Wall Street Journal
current quotations show no great improvement but they are steadier — Chem. & Engineering News
3.
a. : not easily moved or upset : calm , controlled
steady nerves
a steady temper
: disciplined, resolute
the steady valor of the warriors whom he had trained — T.B.Macaulay
b.
(1) : constant in feeling, principle, purpose, or attachment : not fickle or wavering : steadfast
a conservative and steady people, are little attracted by tricky trends — Exhibition of Swiss Bks.
(2) : consistent in performance or behavior : dependable , reliable
there must be men to tend them, men as steady as the wheels upon their axles — Aldous Huxley
a good steady ballplayer
a steady horse
(3) : not easily diverted or thrown off
a hound steady on the scent
c. : not given to dissipation or excess : sober
promised to marry another man, a good steady farmer — Vance Randolph
grown to be fine women, and good steady mothers to their children — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
Synonyms:
even , constant , uniform , equable : in relation to matters inanimate, steady indicates lack of variation, interruption, or change
the light, small, but steady and persistent as before — Thomas Hardy
he first imagined, and then demonstrated, that the geologic agencies are not explosive and cataclysmal, but steady and patient — C.W.Eliot
and in relation to persons it may imply a balanced resolution and dependability, a strength of character under stress
intoxicated as he was, he knew enough to charge the steward — a steady seaman be it remembered — with the present safety of the ship — Herman Melville
statesmen, instead of being as they should be, at once mild and steady, are at once ferocious and inconsistent — T.B.Macaulay
even may indicate a level, plain quality without rough variation or elevation
had been moving along in an even path … there was no apparent slope downward, and distinctly none upward — Theodore Dreiser
when used of people it suggests a natural level calmness without the resolution implied by steady
support with an even temper, and without any violent transports of mind, a sudden gust of prosperity — Henry Fielding
constant implies a sameness, fixity, consistency, persistence, or regularity more or less measurable and lasting
while there have been several clear and distinct changes in the pattern, the essence of the university tradition has through all these years remained constant — J.B.Conant
In reference to persons, it may suggest either loyalty or unchanging fixity
a loyal husband ( constant if not faithful) — Agnes Repplier
could never think of him as having been a young man … he always thought of him as an unchanging, a measured, deliberate, constant quantity, like a Greek letter in a mathematical formula — J.P.Marquand
uniform , less applicable to persons than the preceding words, stresses to a greater degree sameness and lack of variety in salient characteristics as indicated or implied
the various tackle blocks and planks of the wooden ships were cut to uniform measure: building became the assemblage of accurately measured elements — Lewis Mumford
the purpose of this is to afford a requirement of a reasonably uniform character for all states cooperating with the federal government — F.D.Roosevelt
equable stresses lack of extremes and sudden marked changes
a more equable winter climate in France — Osbert Sitwell
in low equable tones, curiously in contrast to the strident babble with which natives are accustomed to make day hideous — Rudyard Kipling
and applied to persons and their temperaments it may imply an unruffled complacence
bridge, whist, baccarat, poker, roulette and Monte Carlo — at all these she won and lost, with the same equable sangfroid — Rose Macaulay
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
transitive verb
1. : to keep from shaking, reeling, or falling : make or keep firm
she swayed slightly and put a hand out to steady herself — Nigel Balchin
2.
a. : to bring under control : calm , compose , quiet
drew a deep breath and steadied himself with an effort of will — Aldous Huxley
b. : to make serious or sober : keep from dissipation or irregular habits
as he had no business or profession to steady him, he traveled rapidly down the primrose path — G.C.Sellery
c. : to make constant, regular, or resolute
was steadied in his determination for a career by his desire to win … approbation and love — Lawrason Brown
3.
a. : to keep (a ship) on the course set : keep from veering off course
b. : to cause to proceed at an even pace
steady the horse
intransitive verb
1. : to settle down : become regular in habits or behavior
led a wild life but steadied down after his marriage
2. : to keep or return to a fixed position or course
the statue tottered but then steadied on its base
they swept round in a long gentle turn and steadied on the course — Nevil Shute
3. : to become more stable
another dark spot appeared to be brightening as farm prices steadied — Dun's Review
Synonyms: see stabilize
III. adverb
1. : in a steady manner : steadily
the rain was coming down steady — Richard Bissell
these poets have seen the city steady and seen it whole — Thomas Lask
2. : on the course set : without veering from the direct line of course — used as a direction to the helmsman of a ship
IV. noun
( -es )
1. : one that is steady ; specifically : a boyfriend or girl friend with whom one goes steady
2. : something that holds firm ; specifically : steady rest