complaisant

American  

[kuhm-pley-suhnt, -zuhnt, kom-pluh-zant] / kəmˈpleɪ sənt, -zənt, ˈkɒm pləˌzænt /

adjective

1. inclined or disposed to please; obliging; agreeable or gracious; compliant.

   the most complaisant child I've ever met.

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complaisant British  

/ kəmˈpleɪzənt /

adjective

1. showing a desire to comply or oblige; polite

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Other Word Forms

• complaisantly adverb
• noncomplaisant adjective
• noncomplaisantly adverb
• uncomplaisant adjective
• uncomplaisantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of complaisant

1640–50; < French (present participle of complaire ) < Latin complacent- (stem of complacēns, present participle of complacēre; complacent )

Example Sentences

Private institutional investors such as BlackRock and Vanguard tend to be more complaisant about CEO pay — except for European funds.

From Los Angeles Times

She opined that modern journalists, like herself, had helped to "normalise the absurd" and that going forward "whilst we do not have to be campaigners, nor should we be complaisant, complicit, onlookers."

From BBC

But Post Malone’s signature aesthetic gesture is the smear, the complaisant way his voice molds neatly to whatever’s handed to him.

From New York Times

The Federal Trade Commission has been especially complaisant—it is only now getting around to fining Facebook for failing to abide by its 2011 consent decree intended to protect users’ privacy.

From The New Yorker

Onstage, there was absolutely nothing complaisant about her.

From New York Times