Literary notes about levelheaded (AI summary)
In literature, “levelheaded” is typically used to highlight a character’s balanced judgment and steady temperament. Writers employ the word to designate individuals who remain calm in challenging situations—whether it’s a navigator urging realistic hopes ([1]) or a character described as both sensible and resolute ([2], [3]). The term can underscore leadership qualities, as seen in depictions of shrewd, pragmatic figures in business or colonial contexts ([4], [5]), while also serving as a counterpoint to less measured behavior ([6], [7]). Such varied usages underscore its role in characterizing those who embody rationality and unwavering composure.
- “Don’t get your hopes too high,” their levelheaded navigator warned them.
— from Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress by Gaylord Du Bois - She’s not like that levelheaded, sensible Madeleine Hollister.
— from The Squirrel-Cage by Dorothy Canfield Fisher - “They wouldn’t have to,” her mother pointed out, “she’s so levelheaded and sane.
— from The Squirrel-Cage by Dorothy Canfield Fisher - New England in colonial days produced some shrewd and levelheaded men, but if she ever produced a great one, I have failed to catch his name.
— from The Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society (Vol. I) by Various - "Mr. Palmer, I know you to be a levelheaded and calculating officer.
— from The Sea Monarch by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman - He’s a levelheaded thinking boy who doesn’t bother his head about that kind of nonsense.
— from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - Everybody says he’s so sane and levelheaded.”
— from The Squirrel-Cage by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
