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stedfast

[sted-fast, -fahst, -fuh st]
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adjective
  1. steadfast.
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steadfast

or sted·fast

[sted-fast, -fahst, -fuh st]
adjective
  1. fixed in direction; steadily directed: a steadfast gaze.
  2. firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment, etc., as a person: a steadfast friend.
  3. unwavering, as resolution, faith, adherence, etc.
  4. firmly established, as an institution or a state of affairs.
  5. firmly fixed in place or position.
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Origin of steadfast

before 1000; Middle English stedefast, Old English stedefæst. See stead, fast1
Related formsstead·fast·ly, adverbstead·fast·ness, nouno·ver·stead·fast, adjectiveo·ver·stead·fast·ly, adverbo·ver·stead·fast·ness, nounun·stead·fast, adjectiveun·stead·fast·ly, adverbun·stead·fast·ness, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for steadfast on Thesaurus.com
2. sure, dependable, reliable, constant, unwavering. Steadfast, staunch, steady imply a sureness and continuousness that may be depended upon. Steadfast literally means fixed in place, but is chiefly used figuratively to indicate undeviating constancy or resolution: steadfast in one's faith. Staunch literally means watertight, as of a vessel, and therefore strong and firm; figuratively, it is used of loyal support that will endure strain: a staunch advocate of free trade. Literally, steady is applied to that which is relatively firm in position or continuous in movement or duration: a steady flow; figuratively, it implies sober regularity or persistence: a steady worker. 4, 5. stable.

Antonyms

2. capricious, variable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stedfast

Historical Examples

  • His friendship is seldom so stedfast, but that lust, drink, or anger may overturn it.

    Microcosmography

    John Earle

  • Paul particularly specifies that we are to be "stedfast in prayer."

  • Let our hearts be right with thee our God, and stedfast in thy covenant.

  • The stedfast rainbow in the fast-moving, fast-hurrying hail-mist!

    Anima Poet

    Samuel Taylor Coleridge

  • But he would prove to them that he was stedfast, and that he had boasted of nothing which he did not possess.

    Rachel Ray

    Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for stedfast

stedfast

adjective
  1. a less common spelling of steadfast
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steadfast

stedfast

adjective
  1. (esp of a person's gaze) fixed in intensity or direction; steady
  2. unwavering or determined in purpose, loyalty, etcsteadfast resolve
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Derived Formssteadfastly or stedfastly, adverbsteadfastness or stedfastness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stedfast

steadfast

adj.

Old English stedefæst "secure in position," from stede (see stead) + fæst (see fast (adj.)); cf. Middle Low German stedevast, Old Norse staðfastr. Related: Steadfastly, steadfastness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper