sanguine

American  

[sang-gwin] / ˈsæŋ gwɪn /

adjective

1. cheerfully optimistic, sometimes to the point of seeming complacent, oblivious, or naive.

   a sanguine disposition;

   sanguine expectations.

   Synonyms:

   positive, optimistic, hopeful, confident, cheerful, buoyant, assured

   Antonyms:

   morose

2. reddish; ruddy.

   a sanguine complexion.

3. (in old physiology) having blood as the predominating humor and consequently being ruddy-faced, cheerful, etc.

4. bloody; sanguinary.

5. blood-red; red.

6. Heraldry. a reddish-purple tincture.

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noun

1. a red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings.

sanguine British  

/ ˈsæŋɡwɪn /

adjective

1. cheerful and confident; optimistic

2. (esp of the complexion) ruddy in appearance

3. blood-red

4. an obsolete word for sanguinary

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noun

1. Also called: red chalk. a red pencil containing ferric oxide, used in drawing

Other Word Forms

• nonsanguineness
  noun
• oversanguineness
  noun
• sanguineness
  noun
• sanguinity
  noun
• sanguinness
  noun
• supersanguinity
  noun
• nonsanguine
  adjective
• oversanguine
  adjective
• presanguine
  adjective
• quasi-sanguine
  adjective
• supersanguine
  adjective
• unsanguine
  adjective
• nonsanguinely
  adverb
• oversanguinely
  adverb
• quasi-sanguinely
  adverb
• sanguinely
  adverb
• unsanguinely
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of sanguine

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English sanguyne “a blood-red cloth,” from Old French sanguin, from Latin sanguineus “bloody,” equivalent to sanguin-, stem of sanguis “blood” + -eus -eous

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Explanation

If you're sanguine about a situation, that means you're optimistic that everything's going to work out fine. Sanguine is from Latin sanguis, "blood," and it originally meant "bloody" — in medieval medicine, it described someone whose ruddy complexion was a sign of an optimistic outlook. That was back when people thought that "bodily humors" like blood were responsible for people's attitudes. Now that we no longer believe in humors, sanguine has settled down as a fancy way to say someone is cheerfully confident that things will work out well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sanguine

Braden was sanguine about Rantzen's promotion but his wife, TV presenter Barbara Kelly, was publicly contemptuous of the decision and accused Wilcox of being instrumental in her appointment.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Some analysts have been sanguine about the risk, assuming that anticipated higher rates are already discounted by asset prices.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

But even if Bernays was sanguine about the use of propaganda, his own enthusiasm points at its dangers: Those who manipulate “this unseen mechanism of society,” he writes, will become an “invisible government.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

He was physically unscathed and remarkably sanguine about the drone that had shattered his routine afternoon nap just hours earlier.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

“What a sanguine smell. What a purposeful fire. Breakfast in a tree. Son, I toil from sunup to sundown, and never have I lived so well!”

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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Related Words

• buoyant
• cheerful
• confident
• enthusiastic
• hopeful
• upbeat

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