VocabauraVOCABAURA

sanguine

adjective · noun · verb

Simple meaning

Having the colour of blood.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

sanggwin

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsæŋɡwɪn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. literary

    Having the colour of blood; blood red.

  2. Anticipating the best; optimistic; confident; full of hope.

  3. Characterized by abundance and active circulation of blood.

  4. Warm; ardent.

noun

  1. Anything of a blood-red colour, as cloth.

  2. A blood-red color

  3. Red crayon.

  4. Bloodstone.

verb

  1. To stain with blood; to impart the colour of blood to; to ensanguine.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Having the colour of blood; blood red.

Used this way, sanguine is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in literature or storytelling contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Formal
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Literary and expressive

Where it naturally appears

  • Literature/storytelling

Usage note

Comfortable in writing and prepared speech; in casual conversation a shorter everyday word usually sounds more natural.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use sanguine

  • “I'm sanguine about the eventual success of the project.”adjective

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “sanguine”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

less sanguinesanguine temperamentsanguine viewsanguine expectationsanguine tempersanguine disposition

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “sanguine” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.