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sanguine

ˈsæŋɡwɪnadjective

What does sanguine mean?

Cheerfully hopeful, even when things look bad.

Sanguine, six ways

PlainCheerfully hopeful, even when things look bad.
ADHDHopeful anyway. Upbeat. Not worried.
Gen ZWeirdly optimistic about a thing everyone else is stressed about.
MetaphorWarm blood in a cold room: the mood that stays up when the temperature drops.
FormalOptimistic or positive, especially in a difficult situation.
Like I’m 5Feeling sure things will be okay, even when they look bad. That’s sanguine.

How to pronounce sanguine

SANG-gwin/ˈsæŋɡwɪn/

Sanguine in a sentence

He remained sanguine about the team’s chances.
I’m sanguine about the weather for Saturday.
Analysts were less sanguine about the second half.

Synonyms for sanguine

optimisticPlainer.
hopefulGentler.
upbeatCasual.

Where sanguine comes from

Latin. Sanguis, blood. In old medicine a person with “too much blood” was thought cheerful and hopeful.

Good to know

Sanguine is hope, often a little too much of it: sanguine about the deadline. Careful: sanguinary means bloodthirsty.

Sanguine meaning, on a Gloss card: Cheerfully hopeful, even when things look bad.

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