What does sturdy mean?
Word: Sturdy
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Sturdy means strong and solid, so that it does not break or fall over easily. A sturdy person is healthy and strongly built.
Synonyms: strong, solid, tough, robust
Antonyms: weak, fragile
How do you spell sturdy?
Syllables: stur - dy
Tricky part: The er sound in the first part is spelt ur, not er or ir.
Watch out for: sterdy, stirdy
Memory tip: Picture a turtle: its shell is about as sturdy as things get, and turtle gives you the ur you need at the start.
Sturdy in a sentence
Example 1: Papa bought a sturdy steel trunk for our long train trip.
Example 2: The sturdy old banyan tree stood firm through the cyclone.
Example 3: Our school bags need sturdy straps to carry all the books.
Fun Fact
Sturdy once had a very different sense: in early English writing it could mean reckless or stubborn before it came to mean strong and solid.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
sturdy
a) large
b) heavy
c) flimsy
d) rough
Show answer
c) flimsy. Flimsy things break easily; heavy, rough and large say nothing about breaking.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
drusty
a) dusty
b) rusty
c) study
d) sturdy
Show answer
d) sturdy. Study, dusty and rusty each leave one letter unused; sturdy uses all six.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
sturdey
a) e
b) y
c) d
d) u
Show answer
a) e. The word ends in a plain y, as muddy and windy do.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) furnichure
b) strength
c) sturdy
d) stable
Show answer
a) furnichure. Furniture ends in ture, as picture does; sturdy, stable and strength are all correct.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What tells you that a chair is sturdy?
a) It does not wobble when you sit on it.
b) It is light enough to lift with one hand.
c) It has a soft, bright cushion on it.
d) It folds flat to fit in a cupboard.
Show answer
a) It does not wobble when you sit on it.
2. Why do trekkers wear sturdy shoes on a rocky path?
a) so they can run faster downhill
b) so the shoes do not tear on the rocks
c) so the shoes look smart in photos
d) so their feet stay cool in the sun
Show answer
b) so the shoes do not tear on the rocks
