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Prepositions after adjectives

Sanguine about and related patterns

Sanguine usually means optimistic or confident. The most common pattern is sanguine about.

Quick answer

Which preposition follows sanguine?

Sanguine about is the standard pattern for optimism regarding a situation. In appears in expressions about confidence in a process or system. Of, on, and for are uncommon after sanguine.

Investors remain sanguine about the market
She is sanguine in difficult situations

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
sanguine about + topic

Expressing optimism about something

About introduces the subject of confidence or optimism.

Analysts are sanguine about growth this year.
2
sanguine in + situation

Remaining confident in circumstances

In introduces the context where confidence is shown.

He stayed sanguine in the face of criticism

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
sanguine about
sanguine about the outcome
optimistic regarding something
sanguine in
sanguine in adversity
calm or optimistic in circumstances
sanguine of
sanguine of success
nonstandard or very rare in modern English
sanguine on
sanguine on policy changes
not idiomatic; about is preferred
sanguine for
sanguine for the future
nonstandard; about the future is preferred

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using sanguine on

About is the natural preposition for topics.

✕ sanguine on the results ✓ sanguine about the results

Using sanguine for

For is not the standard choice after sanguine.

✕ sanguine for the future ✓ sanguine about the future

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Economists are sanguine ___ inflation.
2. She remained sanguine ___ difficult conditions.
3. Which phrase is most idiomatic?

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Frequently asked questions

Is sanguine a formal word?

Yes. It is more common in formal, academic, and business English.

What does sanguine mean?

It means optimistic, confident, or positive.

Can sanguine be followed by on?

Not usually in modern standard English.

sacred-to-in-by-of, for "sad for" or "sad about"? "safe for", "safe from" or "safe in"? "satisfactory to" or "satisfactory for"? satisfied with, of, by, in or on? "satisfying for" or "satisfying to"? scarce in, for, at, on or of? scared of, to, about, for or by? "scary for" or "scary to"? "scathing about", "scathing in" or "scathing of"? "sceptical about" or "sceptical of"? searchable by, on, in, via or through?

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