sanguine

1 of 2

adjective

san·​guine ˈsaŋ-gwən 

1

: 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

2

: 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

3

a

: consisting of or relating to blood

… some sanguine vessels are obstructed, and distended …

—Theophilus Lobb

b

: bloodthirsty, sanguinary

… attacked by the sanguine … warriors of neighboring islands …

—Ana Y. Ramos-Zayas

c

: 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

d

of the complexion : ruddy

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

—Charlotte Brontë

4

: 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

: a moderate to strong red

Did you know?

If you’re the sort of cheery, confident soul who always looks on the bright side no matter what happens, you may be described as sanguine. Sanguine traces back to the Latin noun sanguis, meaning “blood,” and over the centuries the word has had meanings ranging from “bloodthirsty” to “bloodred,” among other things in that (ahem) vein, so how did it also come to mean “hopeful”? During the Middle Ages, health and temperament were believed to be governed by the balance of different liquids, or humors, in one’s body: phlegm, black bile, yellow bile, and blood. Those lucky people who were governed by blood were strong, confident, and even had a healthy reddish glow (all that blood, you know)—they were, in a word, sanguine. In time, the physiological theory behind the humors was displaced by scientific medicine, but the word sanguine is still commonly used to describe those who are cheerfully confident.

Synonyms

Adjective

• murderous
• murdering
• bloody
• sanguinary
• savage
• ferocious
• violent
• fierce
• brutal
• bloodthirsty

Examples of sanguine in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

As usual, Goldfarb, who has run G-III for more than 50 years, is sanguine in that classic, Seventh Avenue way, that his business acumen would win out. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025

Meanwhile, not everyone is as sanguine about tariffs as S&P and the CBO are. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025

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

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

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

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Kids Definition

sanguine

adjective

san·​guine

ˈsaŋ-gwən

1

: having the color of blood

2

a

: sanguinary sense 1

b

: ruddy sense 1

3

: cheerful sense 1a, hopeful

a sanguine disposition

4

: 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

Medical Definition

sanguine

adjective

san·​guine ˈsaŋ-gwən 

1

a

: consisting of or relating to blood

b

of the complexion : ruddy

2

: having blood as the predominating bodily humor

also : having the bodily conformation and temperament held characteristic of such predominance and marked by sturdiness, high color, and cheerfulness