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Original poster

I have been using this word wrongly

146 replies

puppydisaster · 09/01/2023 09:56

For my whole adult life I thought "sanguine" meant laid-back, chilled out, resigned to what fate would dole out.

As in "I used to get stressed about exams but I'm more sanguine now I'm older".

I found out this week that "sanguine" means optimistic! So obviously the above sentence still makes sense but not how I intended it.

What on earth is the word I want to use?

OP posts:
cathyandclare · 09/01/2023 21:43

I've been making the same mistake - am mortified Blush! Interestingly many of the words on this thread are ones that I've mistaken previously. Either they're commonly misunderstood or I'm a numpty.

I've mixed up discreet and discrete, and used enervate and hoi polloi in the wrong context- but at least I worked those out before this thread, unlike sanguine which I thought meant chilled, relaxed, accepting.

FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 09/01/2023 21:43

Agree Cant — the other one that's like that for me is pulchritude. Reeeeally doesn't look or sound like it means "beauty" Hmm

CantFindTheBeat · 09/01/2023 21:46

FurryDandelionSeekingMissile · 09/01/2023 21:43

Agree Cant — the other one that's like that for me is pulchritude. Reeeeally doesn't look or sound like it means "beauty" Hmm

Exactly!

Can't imagine many people would think being described as pulchritudinous was anything other than disgusting!!

Original poster
puppydisaster · 09/01/2023 21:54

CantFindTheBeat · 09/01/2023 21:40

Great thread, OP!

I too thought sanguine meant laid back, accepting.

Maybe because we often associate 'san' as without, so perhaps we think 'without stress'?

Maybe pragmatic is an alternative?

I always have to remind myself that bucolic is a positive word. Sounds like it should be linked to the plague, certainly doesn't evoke beautiful countryside to me!

Pragmatic sounds too energetic, though, don't you think?

If I'm sanguine (our definition!) about whether or not my child passes, their Maths GCSE, that's all well and good. If I'm pragmatic about it, it sounds like I'm making lots of plans depending on the outcome.

OP posts:
Circumferences · 09/01/2023 21:54

I turned 40 not long ago, and have for my entire life misunderstood the word "grifter".

Thankfully it's not a word I've needed to use or come across much. I genuinely thought it meant someone who is hard working, who puts in a lot of effort to get stuff done. How that passed me by who knows.

Puffalicious · 09/01/2023 21:55

electricmoccasins · 09/01/2023 18:18

Perhaps the ‘hoi polloi’ folks are getting confused with ‘hoity toity’.. ?

You know, I think you're right!

Ohyesthankyouglitter · 09/01/2023 22:00

I've really enjoyed this thread

MotherOfHouseplants · 09/01/2023 22:01

Discreet / discrete and phased / fazed are absolutely endemic and drive me mad.

CantFindTheBeat · 09/01/2023 22:02

Yep, @puppydisaster, you're right,

I guess that's where the slang 'chilled' fits in!!

monsteramunch · 09/01/2023 22:04

Oh goodness I thought it meant sort of pale and sickly looking!

Puffalicious · 09/01/2023 22:05

I've always thought of pragmatic as the opposite of romantic- as in practical/ accepting. e.g. my friend gave me a leaving gift of a penknife, (for travelling) rather than a bunch of roses- pragmatic.

cathyandclare · 09/01/2023 22:07

Puffalicious · 09/01/2023 22:05

I've always thought of pragmatic as the opposite of romantic- as in practical/ accepting. e.g. my friend gave me a leaving gift of a penknife, (for travelling) rather than a bunch of roses- pragmatic.

Surely you're right? Pragmatic is sensible and practical - isn't it?

Fearing another sanguine situation.

Flapjackquack · 09/01/2023 22:14

I have been using it wrong too but even worse I am sure I have been told in the past of its correct meaning and my brain just won’t have it.

I also struggle with acrimonious- I think it sounds like a positive word and have to remind myself it’s the opposite of harmonious every time.

sukiwh · 09/01/2023 22:22

Good to know about sanguine - I thought the same as you OP.

One word no one ever seems to know the meaning of is nonplussed! Everyone seems to think it means someone is not bothered.

saraclara · 09/01/2023 22:27

Surely you're right? Pragmatic is sensible and practical - isn't it?

Not exactly. Pragmatic is the opposite of idealistic. You might believe very strongly in something, but realise that it's impossible to get to your goal at this point. So you accept something less than your ideal result, or have to swallow your pride, in order to achieve the best you can.

Idealists tend to get frustrated by pragmatists who they thing are selling out. Pragmatists are frustrated by idealists, who simply refuse to consider accepting anything other than their ultimate (and probably unrealistic) goal.

Puffalicious · 09/01/2023 22:31

cathyandclare · 09/01/2023 22:07

Surely you're right? Pragmatic is sensible and practical - isn't it?

Fearing another sanguine situation.

Show quote history

Phew! Just that a PP suggested pragmatic as an alternative for the OP ie like stoic/ accepting. To me it means practical.

Puffalicious · 09/01/2023 22:33

saraclara · 09/01/2023 22:27

Surely you're right? Pragmatic is sensible and practical - isn't it?

Not exactly. Pragmatic is the opposite of idealistic. You might believe very strongly in something, but realise that it's impossible to get to your goal at this point. So you accept something less than your ideal result, or have to swallow your pride, in order to achieve the best you can.

Idealists tend to get frustrated by pragmatists who they thing are selling out. Pragmatists are frustrated by idealists, who simply refuse to consider accepting anything other than their ultimate (and probably unrealistic) goal.

I think we're both right, no? Just slight difference in interpretation?

NoNotHimTheOtherOne · 09/01/2023 22:39

I always have to remind myself that bucolic is a positive word. Sounds like it should be linked to the plague, certainly doesn't evoke beautiful countryside to me!

Speaking of plague, I have an endless battle with colleagues (many of them doctors) who keep writing "pneumonic" when they mean "mnemonic".

MotherOfHouseplants · 09/01/2023 22:42

puppydisaster · 09/01/2023 21:30

I don't think so. I think of "languid" as lazy and "sanguine" as more "whatever will be will be" - resigned to any outcome.

Phlegmatic sounds the perfect fit but I don't think you can sound unlike an arsehole using it in everyday conversation.

Show quote history

I was embarrassingly old when I realised that although the mucus you produce when you have a cold is pronounced ‘flem’, the adjective meaning ‘calmly unemotional’ is pronounced fleg-ma-tic and not flemma-tic Blush

tolerable · 09/01/2023 22:46

i honestly didnt know "wrongly"was a word.

  • Also...im NOT entirely convince that your use of it was in actual error. IF consider the definition - cheerfully optimistic, sometimes to the point of seeming complacent, oblivious, or naive:
-
Canabelievethis · 09/01/2023 23:03

donttalkaboutbookclub · 09/01/2023 10:03

For years I thought hoi-polloi meant posh people - it still sounds as if it should mean that to me!

Perhaps you were mixing the word up with 'hoity-toity' - (marked by an air of assumed importance)

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Canabelievethis · 09/01/2023 23:09

Circumferences · 09/01/2023 21:54

I turned 40 not long ago, and have for my entire life misunderstood the word "grifter".

Thankfully it's not a word I've needed to use or come across much. I genuinely thought it meant someone who is hard working, who puts in a lot of effort to get stuff done. How that passed me by who knows.

Perhaps you mixed grifter with a similar word - 'grafter'- which indeed describes someone hardworking.

Tinner01 · 09/01/2023 23:17

donttalkaboutbookclub · 09/01/2023 10:03

For years I thought hoi-polloi meant posh people - it still sounds as if it should mean that to me!

Same!

ReindeerBelieve · 09/01/2023 23:21

UnfinishedBusiness · 09/01/2023 10:35

I’m with you op. I know what it actually means, but for some reason I’ve always thought it sounds perfect as an “I’m really chilled/relaxed about this situation” type of word.🤷‍♀️

This exactly
Well they do say every days a school day

Canabelievethis · 09/01/2023 23:30

Over the years I've heard folk on the news mix 'condone' with 'condemn' when being interviewed - 🤔always raises a chuckle 😃