Sanguine
//ˈsæŋ.ɡwɪn// adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Blood colour; red. countable, uncountable
- 2 chalk of a reddish-brown colour that resembles dried blood wordnet
- 3 Anything of a blood-red colour, as cloth. countable, uncountable
- 4 a blood-red color wordnet
- 5 A tincture, seldom used, of a blood-red colour (not to be confused with murrey). countable, uncountable
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- 6 Bloodstone. countable, uncountable
- 7 Red crayon. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To stain with blood; to impart the colour of blood to; to ensanguine.
Adjective
- 1 Having the colour of blood; blood red. literary
- 2 Having a bodily constitution characterised by a preponderance of blood over the other bodily humours, thought to be marked by irresponsible mirth; indulgent in pleasure to the exclusion of important matters. obsolete
"What, what, ye sanguine, shallow-hearted boys!"
- 3 Characterized by abundance and active circulation of blood.
"a sanguine bodily temperament"
- 4 Warm; ardent.
"a sanguine temper"
- 5 Anticipating the best; optimistic; confident; full of hope.
"I'm sanguine about the eventual success of the project."
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- 6 Full of blood; bloody. archaic
- 7 Bloodthirsty. archaic
Adjective
- 1 inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life wordnet
- 2 confidently optimistic and cheerful wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"I am not sanguine that the negotiations will succeed."
Etymology
From Middle English sanguine, from Old French sanguin, ultimately from Latin sanguineus (“of blood”), from sanguis (“blood”) (of uncertain origin, but probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₁sh₂-én-, from *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”), with an obscure suffix such as *-ǵʰ- (related to body parts)) + -inus + -eus. Doublet of sanguineous.
Related phrases
More for "sanguine"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.