complacent

adjective

com·​pla·​cent kəm-ˈplā-sᵊnt 

1

: marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies : marked by complacency : self-satisfied

a complacent smile

2

: complaisant sense 1

complacent flattery

3

: unconcerned

complacently adverb

Did you know?

Complaisant or Complacent?

The homophones complaisant and complacent are often confused - and no wonder. Not only do they look and sound alike, but they also both derive ultimately from Latin complacēre, meaning "to please greatly." Complacent usually means "self-satisfied" or "unconcerned," but it also shares with complaisant the sense of "marked by an inclination to please or oblige." This sense of complacent is an old one, but that hasn't kept language critics from labeling it as an error - and on the whole, modern writers do prefer complaisant for this meaning. Conversely, complaisant is sometimes mistakenly used in contexts such as "complaisant about injustices," where complacent, with its sense of "marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies," should go. One aid is to remember that with the preposition "about," you probably want complacent.

Synonyms

• apathetic
• casual
• disinterested
• incurious
• indifferent
• insensible
• insouciant
• nonchalant
• perfunctory
• pococurante
• unconcerned
• uncurious
• uninterested

Examples of complacent in a Sentence

… I gazed at my mother's poised, beautiful profile as her face turned from side to side, calm or complacent, accepting what the route offered. —Donald Hall, Atlantic, October 1996

Mr. Davis organized his second great quintet in the mid-60's, but by then jazz had taken a new turn and many felt he had become passé, a complacent peacock. —Gary Giddins, New York Times Book Review, 15 Oct. 1989

… he hopes to break through the reader's complacent indifference, make him aware of his predicament, and force him to take sides. —Monroe K. Spears, American Ambitions, 1987

Lord Lathkill … was so completely unostentatious, so very willing to pay all the attention to me, and yet so subtly complacent, so unquestionably sure of his position. —D. H. Lawrence, The Complete Short Stories Volume III, (1922) 1981

The strong economy has made people complacent.

We have grown too complacent over the years.

We can't afford to be complacent about illiteracy.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the complacent emperor, possessing neither the material means nor the foresight to recognize the technology’s significance, dismissed the proposal. —Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024

If quotas are too low, sales reps are likely to over-perform, which can lead to complacent sellers as well as higher incentive compensation costs for the business. —Sean Brophy, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

People may be more complacent about diseases such as measles and polio, Conway said. —Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024

In short, arena fighters are a tried and true — if not complacent — plug-and-go formula to capitalize off of an up-and-coming anime series. —Isaiah Colbert, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin complacent-, complacens, present participle of complacēre to please greatly, from com- + placēre to please — more at please

First Known Use

1767, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

complacent

adjective

com·​pla·​cent kəm-ˈplās-ᵊnt 

1

: marked by complacency : self-satisfied

a complacent smile

2

: feeling or showing complaisance

complacently adverb