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.
“We may have been in an environment where markets were a little more complacent with the need for energy within a portfolio of stocks.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Importantly, this new rally comes at the tail end of one of the most notable S&P 500/gold ratio declines, “suggesting markets are not complacent at all about geopolitical risks/concerns,” he says.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026
Unlike the long-ago transition to the cloud, which undid many existing software firms, incumbents aren’t being complacent this time around.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
Her mum said that because of this they had become "too complacent" about the illness.
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
She lingered uncertainly among complacent wood peckers from the north.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
