What do you call a rocking chair if it is big, firm, and unlikely to fall suddenly?

Question

What do you call a rocking chair if it is big, firm, and unlikely to fall suddenly? You'll feel safe if you sit in it, because nothing is going to happen with you.

I looked in Collins for words like:

Reliable People or things that are reliable can be trusted to work well or to behave in the way that you want them to.

I would call a man reliable, or a watch (as there are mechanism, supposed to work well), but I'm not sure, can I apply it to inanimate objects with no mechanisms.

Stable If something is stable, it is not likely to change or come to an end suddenly.

Steady If an object is steady, it is firm and does not shake or move about.

I'm not sure, can I call a rocking chair with both of that, because it's supposed to move, you know.

So, is there better word or some of the above works quite right?

Answer 1

Calling a rocking chair "reliable" is not very idiomatic, since it isn't something that typically fails frequently, nor is it something that is typically relied upon. "Steady" wouldn't either fit here, since a rocking chair does not, in fact, "not shake or move about." It is specifically designed to move and rock.

"Stable" would definitely work. If I heard a a rocking chair described that way, I would think that it doesn't move about in any other way than the way it was designed to move, and that it is heavy and unlikely to fall over.

You might also describe a chair as "sturdy" if you wanted to emphasize that it is strong and solidly built, and it is unlikely to break suddenly, even if you treated it a bit too roughly.