complacent

[kuhm-pley-suhnt]

adjective

1. 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

2. agreeable and eager to please.

complacent

/ kəmˈpleɪsənt /

adjective

1. pleased or satisfied, esp extremely self-satisfied

2. an obsolete word for complaisant

Other Word Forms

• complacently adverb
• noncomplacent adjective
• overcomplacent adjective
• uncomplacent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of complacent¹

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 )

Word History and Origins

Origin of complacent¹

C17: from Latin complacēns very pleasing, from complacēre to be most agreeable to, from com- (intensive) + placēre to please

Example Sentences

He never rests on yesterday’s successes and doesn’t get complacent.

Read more on Barron's

Wall Street has been too complacent about inflation, and too quick to predict the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, for years.

Read more on MarketWatch

"Markets appear complacent as the ground shifts," it said in its financial stability report, which noted risks from trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty and rising sovereign indebtedness.

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In its semiannual report on financial stability, the IMF wrote: “Risk asset prices are well above fundamentals, increasing the probability of disorderly corrections…Markets appear complacent as the ground shifts.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Looking back, there were signs that investors were beginning to feel a bit too complacent.

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Related Words

• confident 
• happy 
• pleased www.thesaurus.com
• satisfied 
• self-righteous 
• smug