oversanguine

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From over- +‎ sanguine.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

oversanguine (comparative more oversanguine, superlative most oversanguine)

  1. Too sanguine; overconfident, too disposed to hopes of success.
    • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 571:
      So when the Elizabethan bishop, Edwin Sanders, claimed that ‘the gospel hath chased away walking spirits’, he was over-sanguine.
    • 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford, published 2003, page 335:
      In that respect the popular clamor for "smashing" the rebels was based on sound if oversanguine instinct.