oversanguine

English

Alternative forms

• over-sanguine

Etymology

From over- +‎ sanguine.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əʊvəˈsaŋɡwɪn/

Adjective

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.