Select the correct spelling of a word meaning 'cheerfully optimistic, especially in difficult times'.

Correct — A. The word for 'cheerfully optimistic, especially in difficult times' is sanguine: s-a-n-g-u-i-n-e.

Two checks fix the letters. The gw sound in the middle is written gu, as in language and penguin. The word ends in a silent -e.

Sanguine has both → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Sangwine — Sangwine spells the gw sound as it is heard. In this word English writes that sound gu, as it does in language and penguin.
• (c)
  Sanguin — Sanguin drops the silent final e. The -ine ending belongs to the English spelling even though the e is not pronounced.
• (d)
  Sangueenm — Sangueenm writes the i as ee and ends in m where the word has a silent e. Sanguine has a single i and ends in -ine.

A definition-led spelling item tests two things: whether you can name the word from its meaning, and whether you know its exact letters.

'Cheerfully optimistic, especially in difficult times' points to sanguine. The letters then turn on two spots, the gu sounded gw and the silent final e.

The word comes from Latin sanguis, 'blood'. Medieval medicine linked a temperament ruled by blood with a hopeful, confident disposition.

Key facts

• Sanguine means optimistic or positive, especially in a bad or difficult situation.
• It comes from Latin sanguis, 'blood', through the medieval idea of the four humours.
• Sanguinary, from the same root, means involving or causing much bloodshed.
• In sanguine the gu is sounded gw, as in language and penguin.

Common traps

• Confusing sanguine (hopeful) with sanguinary (bloodthirsty)
• Spelling the gw sound the way it is heard, which produces Sangwine

No directly related past PYQ was found.