sure-footed
/ˌsɔːˈfʊtɪd
/adjective
1Unlikely to stumble or slip: tough, sure-footed hill ponies...
- The famous hardy and sure-footed Basotho ponies can take visitors into areas not accessible by road.
- Leaving their overnight camp by the riverbed, they turn their sure-footed local steeds toward the steep, rocky outline of the Spur.
- Once sure-footed, their step is now a confused, uncertain stagger, like a drunk slaloming from house to house in searching for his own front door.
1.1Confident and competent: the challenges of the 1990s demand a responsible and sure-footed government...
- I will shine the lantern along your path so you feel confident and sure-footed with each step you take.
- These are sure-footed lyrics, confidently placed in their musical context, and telling their stories by phrasing just as much as the words.
- On average, the Bush campaign has been more sure-footed, but both sides have had stumbles.
Derivatives
sure-footedly
- His deliberately understated portrait of Eton, carefully crafted to be accurate but not so arcane as to alienate readers from other schools, set the Dance sequence sure-footedly on its path.
- We're calling it a reported essay - something that distills reporting and presents it sure-footedly.
- Butler guides readers sure-footedly through the immensely difficult terrain of these rapidly transforming societies.
sure-footedness
- In performance, the Touareg can tackle gradients up to 100 percent - and it has the sure-footedness to navigate lateral slope angles as high as 45 degrees.
- It is just the opposite - a sense of sure-footedness and balance that is often the defining trait of people of great character and impeccable integrity.
- It's not too difficult to guess that the heron's lack of sure-footedness reflects Denerley's current state of mind.