Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Freedom from agitation or excitement of mind; coolness; indifference; calmness in trying circumstances.
Wiktionary
- n. Composure, level-headedness, coolness in trying circumstances.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Freedom from agitation or excitement of mind; coolness in trying circumstances; indifference; calmness.
WordNet 3.0
- n. great coolness and composure under strain
Etymologies
- French : sang, blood (from Old French, from Latin sanguis) + froid, cold (from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *frigidus, alteration of Latin frīgidus; see frigid).
Examples
“That won't prevent it—suggests that her reputation for dry wit and sang-froid was well deserved.”
“Still, French sang-froid about the likely rising cost of stabilizing the euro zone may be tested as campaigning heats up ahead of the 2012 elections.”
“But he went among them single-handed, his bearing being a delicious composite of humility, familiarity, sang-froid, and insolence.”
“Set in Los Angeles, "Drive"—a high-octane neo-noir, where thugs are blown to bits with ruthless sang-froid and heads are smashed like melons—earned Mr. Refn the "Best Director" award in Cannes in May.”
The Wall Street Journal: Refn Revs Into High Gear With 'Drive'
“President Obama and the operatives who finally brought bin Laden to justice deserve great credit—Mr. Obama particularly for his sang-froid.”
The Wall Street Journal: Is Fist-Pumping the Right Reaction?
“So all that Italian crew looked on and marvelled at the infant phenomenon that downed wine with the sang-froid of an automaton.”
“Tonight, as her husband attempts to reboot his political career with the assistance of Eli Gold the never knowingly understated Alan Cumming, Alicia keeps her cool during a vaguely hairy sniper subplot, and meets up with her brother, who refreshingly mocks her sang-froid.”
“Mr. Gruber, himself a Calhoun parent, generously attributed the children's sang-froid less to his skills as either a photographer or child psychologist than to the demeanor of the typical Calhoun student.”
“Yet, clad in Chelsea blue, the Spaniard will retain his sang-froid.”
The Guardian: I never kissed the Liverpool badge, says Chelsea's Fernando Torres
“Now an economic development student in London, Eli expands on his teenage sang-froid: She had actually been to a fortune teller many years ago.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sang-froid’.
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 138 more...
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my fab list
blowsabella, aperçu, froideur, salubrious, abject, gallipot, mumchance, wainscot, virago, macerate, lascivious, clandestine and 181 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 414 more...
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Portmanteau-ism
portmanteau, apophenia, apoplexy, antisyzygy, canard, augur, interstice, sang-froid, agent provocateur, aposiopesis, folderol, twaddle and 4 more...
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Loan words from French
gite, coq au vin, dernier cri, clique, hors d'œuvre, touché, naïve, coquette, bourgeois, contretemps, flâneur, film noir and 63 more...
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French words to throw around next time you fee...
This list is endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Mimes, Jerry Lewis, and the Society for the Propagation of French Stereotypes.
bon mot, bon vivant, boulevardier, accoutrement, ménage à trois, melee, coup de grace, elan, bete noir, agent provocateur, crème de la crème, haut monde and 42 more...
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Franco
fin-de-siècle, sang-froid, minatory, loup, son et lumière, bonhomie, l'heure bleue, frippery
amoristadjective From the French, it literally means "cold blood" May 31, 2008
sonofgroucho Something of which I don't have enough! Apr 8, 2007