complacently

American  

[kuhm-pley-suhnt-lee] / kəmˈpleɪ sənt li /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• noncomplacently adverb
• overcomplacently adverb
• uncomplacently adverb

Etymology

Origin of complacently

complacent ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

But the unpredictability means this cannot be guaranteed - and they have seemed to accept that they can no longer complacently rely on the US to honour its historic commitment to their defence.

From BBC

Not merely complacently sure of herself, like Bernhardi, she is, in Stevenson’s unflinching performance, a completely unsympathetic blowhard.

From New York Times

This “colorful comedy of romance and finding yourself,” according to the Guardian, tries “very hard to be liked, while at the same time complacently assuming its likability is beyond question.”

From Washington Post

Pence complacently assured his audience that “the government would oversee” private accounts, but what does that mean?

From Los Angeles Times

In blunt remarks, Lindner said Germany had slipped behind other countries because it was especially vulnerable to Europe's energy crisis and supply chain disruptions, and had complacently believed in its own economic strength.

From Reuters