sanguine

1 of 2

adjective

san·guine ˈsaŋ-gwən

Synonyms of sanguine next

: marked by eager hopefulness : confidently optimistic

In the month of August 1994, Democrats remained sanguine about their chances at the polls …—

John B. Judis

A lot of attention also is being devoted to the development of vaccines to prevent genital herpes, although not everyone is sanguine about the outcome.—

The Journal of the American Medical Association

: bloodred

… the radiant heat from the cedar logs, whose sanguine colour made the silvered locks of his hair into a fantastic wreath of flames.—

Elinor Wylie

: consisting of or relating to blood

… some sanguine vessels are obstructed, and distended …—

Theophilus Lobb

: bloodthirsty, sanguinary

… attacked by the sanguine … warriors of neighboring islands …—

Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas

: accompanied by, involving, or relating to bloodshed : bloody

… from the numerous graves, including those by the barn, which our shells had destroyed; we realized what a sanguine battle it had been …—

Frederick W. Wild

of the complexion : ruddy

She was all unnerved; her naturally sanguine complexion was pale …—

Charlotte Brontë

: having blood as the predominating bodily humor see humor entry 1 sense 2c

An abundance of red blood was marked by a warm and sanguine temperament; whereas, an excess of yellow bile produced the choleric temperament …—

Samuel Lytler Metcalfe

also : having the bodily conformation and temperament held characteristic of such predominance and marked by sturdiness, healthy red complexion, and cheerfulness

He conceived himself rather as a sanguine and strenuous man, a great fighter. —

G. K. Chesterton

sanguinely adverb

sanguineness

ˈsaŋ-gwən-nəs

noun

sanguinity

saŋ-ˈgwi-nə-tē

san-

noun

sanguine

2 of 2

noun

san·guine ˈsaŋ-gwən

: a moderate to strong red

Did you know?

If you're the sort of cheery soul who always looks on the bright side no matter what happens, you have a sanguine personality. Sanguine is the name of one of the temperaments that ancient and medieval scholars believed was caused by an abundance of one of the four humors. It comes from sanguineus—Latin for "of or relating to blood" or "bloody"—and over centuries has had meanings ranging from "bloodthirsty" and "bloodred" to "confidently optimistic."

Example Sentences

Adjective He has been strangely sanguine about this, blandly ignoring the mounting evidence that dissident elements in the police are stirring trouble … —

Allister Sparks, Washington Post, 9–15 Mar. 1992

How could a man of his caliber be this sanguine about a war we had barely begun to fight? He gave me the McNamara look, eyes focusing boldly through rimless glasses. "Every quantitative measurement we have shows that we're winning this war," he said. —

Neil Sheehan, A Bright Shining Lie, 1988

Yet if there were sanguine expectations of war profits and unlimited booty from the Spanish empire, … those hopes were dramatically confounded … —

Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988

He does not pretend to be sanguine about our prospects. History itself, he reminds us, provides few examples of cultures as debilitated as ours which were not destroyed by the very forces they set in motion. —

Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987

She has a sanguine disposition. He is sanguine about the company's future. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Chris Mooney pointed me to a report on a study which finds that white males are the most sanguine in relation to climate change. —

Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 July 2011 While Wall Street types tend to be (too) sanguine about the possibility of politicians reaching a deal, that calm stance is starting to slip: Investors are forcing the government to pay higher interest rates on debt due when the limit is forecast to be reached, known as the X-date. —

Tim Fernholz, Quartz, 9 May 2023 Fox News’ corporate parent has remained sanguine about the legal matters. —

Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 Dec. 2021 Others are more sanguine, arguing that open access is necessary to develop safeguards for AI systems and that similarly complex language models have already been made public without causing significant harm. —

James Vincent, The Verge, 8 Mar. 2023 Divorced and estranged from his daughter, Harding is in the twilight of his career and is amusingly sanguine about the changing role of the White male professor in a university system that has become increasingly attuned to issues of diversity. —

Leland Cheuk, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2023 Malaria is the rare global health scourge about which experts are sanguine — so much so that some have begun to talk about eradicating the disease. —

Apoorva Mandavilli Kang-Chun Cheng, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2022 Yet, throughout, Russell renders King’s quiet insistence, and his own (remarkably sanguine) explorations into the world of dark forces, with a flair both literary and relatable. —

Longreads, 20 May 2022 Migration Hits a Breaking Point – The migrant crisis which first rocked our sanguine, northern world in 2015 with a photo of a child, prostrate and face down on a Turkish beach, is still a slow-motion train wreck today. —

Kevin O'Marah, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022

Noun

Unfortunately, the angling tournament on Lake Erie that made international news the other day doesn’t bode well for the sanguine. —

Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022 Also called the travel, dying grass, sanguine or blood moon, the term hunter's moon was first identified in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1710. —

Julia Musto, Fox News, 7 Oct. 2022 No two songs sound alike, and the whole enterprise is built upon the juxtaposition of Dinger’s rhythmic intensity and Rother’s sanguine, cosmically inclined songcraft. —

Jonathan Williger, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2022 But the rest of the production was far from sanguine. —

Mark Peikert, Town & Country, 28 Jan. 2022 Indeed, as director Amy Berg’s documentary reminds us, his fans are not exactly known for being laid-back and sanguine in the face of criticism of their idol. —

Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Jan. 2022 The song grapples with the self-doubt that emerges as a product of the creative process, and serves as a sanguine take on a common artist’s dilemma. —

Taylor Mims, Billboard, 18 Jan. 2022 The hunter's moon, which follows the harvest moon, was also called the travel, dying grass, sanguine or blood moon by Algonquin tribes. —

Julia Musto, Fox News, 20 Oct. 2021 The designs of Indian miniatures were first drawn in rough outline in charcoal, which was subsequently painted over with sanguine followed by a very thin coat of white priming. —

Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sanguine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English sanguin, from Anglo-French, from Latin sanguineus, from sanguin-, sanguis — see sanguinary

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of sanguine was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Sanguine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanguine. Accessed 13 Jul. 2023.

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Kids Definition

sanguine

adjective

san·guine

ˈsaŋ-gwən

: having the color of blood

: sanguinary sense 1

: ruddy sense 1

: cheerful sense 1a, hopeful

a sanguine disposition

: confident, optimistic

sanguine of success

sanguinely adverb

sanguinity

saŋ-ˈgwin-ət-ē

san-

noun

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English sanguin "having the color of blood," from early French sanguin (same meaning), from Latin sanguineus (same meaning), from sanguin-, sanguis "blood" see Word History at humor