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surefooted

surefooted

5.5
Confident and reliable when making decisions or taking action
  • adjective
  • /ˈʃʊrˌfʊtɪd/
translation icon : seguro
  • Sparky insists that she is more surefooted than Eldy in this situation, so she clambered up the ladder and went to work while Eldy worked on the sides of the coach and got the bugs off the front, a job that requires a lot of elbow grease when the buggies are baked on.

Examples

  • His surefooted approach to problem-solving impressed everyone during the meeting.

  • The hiker felt surefooted as he traversed the rocky terrain without slipping.

  • She made a surefooted decision to invest in the project, knowing it would succeed.

Synonyms

sure-handed
vssurefooted
1 6.2

Skilled, steady, and confident when doing a task, often using the hands

is broader covering reliable judgment and action not only task skill
sure-footed
vssurefooted
1 4.4

Confident and reliable when making decisions or taking action

is the unhyphenated spelling with identical meaning
footsure
vssurefooted
  • Archaic
7.1

Steady when moving and unlikely to trip

is broader and applies to reliable judgment and action not only movement

Antonyms

73 3.2

Slow to act or speak because you feel unsure

71 4.1

Not able to be trusted to work or be right

How Confident

surefooted
5.5
unshakeable
  • UK
4 4.4
self-assured
11 4.1
confident
715 2.5
steady
186 1.3
hesitant
73 3.2
uncertain
43 3.9

Surface Forms

surefooted positive

Morphology

surefooted = sure + foot (transparent) = sure + foot + ed

Meaning 'having a sure foot' is directly derived from 'sure' + 'foot' with '-ed' forming an adjective describing reliability in action.

Etymology

Surefooted comes from the parts sure ('certain' or 'safe') and foot ('foot'), so it is also used in a figurative way to describe someone who is steady and reliable in their actions or decisions, unlikely to make mistakes.