complacently

[kuhm-pley-suhnt-lee]

adverb

1. in a pleased or self-satisfied way, often without awareness of some potential danger or defect.

   We are all part of the system that perpetuates these injustices, and we must not stand complacently by.

2. in a pleasant or compliant way.

   The frog in the pot, unaware of the threat, simply sits complacently until he boils.

Other Word Forms

• noncomplacently adverb
• overcomplacently adverb
• uncomplacently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of complacently¹

complacent ( def. ) + -ly