complacent
Americanadjective
-
pleased, especially with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied.
The voters are too complacent to change the government.
- Synonyms:
- untroubled, unbothered, smug
-
agreeable and eager to please.
adjective
-
pleased or satisfied, esp extremely self-satisfied
-
an obsolete word for complaisant
Other Word Forms
- complacently adverb
- noncomplacent adjective
- overcomplacent adjective
- uncomplacent adjective
Etymology
Origin of complacent
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin complacent- (stem of complacēns, present participle of complacēre “to take the fancy of, please,” equivalent to com- “with, together, completely” ( com- ) + placēre “to seem good” ( please )
Compare meaning
How does complacent compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There is a “fine line” between applying to too many jobs and looking complacent, she says.
From MarketWatch
“I don’t think we can be complacent,” he said.
From Barron's
“I don’t think we can be complacent,” he said.
From Barron's
The automaker had been slow to make decisions and was complacent with its sinking status in the U.S., he said.
What if I became complacent and stopped paying attention?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
