as in amenability
a desire or disposition to please
the complaisance of his girlfriend is such that she meekly goes along with everything he says
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Recent Examples of complaisance
The steadfast pushback against the administration might appear on the surface to be an encouraging trend, given the complaisance of the Republican majorities in Congress and weak-kneed capitulation to Trump by leaders of institutions such as universities and major corporations.
—
Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Yet electing to be private doesn’t amount to complaisance or complicity.
—Lesley M.m. Blume, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2022
Sammy’s awareness of his mother’s infidelity, his father’s complaisance, and how both were relieved by his creative Boy Scout merit-badge projects and fantasies requires a separate article.
—Armond White, National Review, 16 Nov. 2022
What is lost is the look of complaisance that defines young founders looking for capital.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 2 Mar. 2021
There are more emphatic reasons for the market’s complaisance.
—Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2016
Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Yet electing to be private doesn’t amount to complaisance or complicity.
—Lesley M.m. Blume, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2022
Sammy’s awareness of his mother’s infidelity, his father’s complaisance, and how both were relieved by his creative Boy Scout merit-badge projects and fantasies requires a separate article.
—Armond White, National Review, 16 Nov. 2022
What is lost is the look of complaisance that defines young founders looking for capital.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 2 Mar. 2021
There are more emphatic reasons for the market’s complaisance.
—Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complaisance
Noun
-
And the openness and the friendliness and the happy faces.—
Annie Alleman,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Beginner-friendliness is where the S1 shines, as Skyrover managed to outfit this ultra-light drone with a decent set of safety features without gutting everything else.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But despite the pleasantness, there are still some areas where the graphics are lacking.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
14 Nov. 2025
-
The farmer’s tendency to pursue high yields obscured the delicate pleasantness this grape gives when handled carefully.—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
All of this is to say, the man is a good sport, and his work in The Fall Guy as stuntman Colt Seavers reflects that amiability.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
So far, the closest person the 2020s have to fill that slot is Glen Powell, a native of the Lone Star State blessed with a smile that melts butter and and aw-shucks amiability.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
-
In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Complaisance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complaisance. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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