complaisant
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of complaisant
1640–50; < French (present participle of complaire ) < Latin complacent- (stem of complacēns, present participle of complacēre; see complacent)
Explanation
If only the world were populated entirely with complaisant people! Complaisant means willing to do something to please others, and complaisant people or animals are wonderful to be around. Don't confuse complaisant with its near-homonym complacent. Both derive from the Latin complacere "to please," but while complaisant means willing to do something to please another, complacent means smug and self-satisfied, something that you want to avoid when you're on the winning team.
Vocabulary lists containing complaisant
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Society and Solitude
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," Vocabulary from the short story
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
In 1961, he had a small part in a production of Arnold Wesker's Roots and made his Broadway debut as the comic valet in The Complaisant Lover.
From BBC • Aug. 29, 2016
Relatively, one of the worst moments of her life occurred two years ago when she was the adolescent in the Broadway production of Graham Greene's The Complaisant Lover.
From Time Magazine Archive
To those who relish Novelist and Playwright Graham Greene most when he broods over the eternal triangle�man, guilt and God�The Complaisant Lover will be a qualified disappointment.
From Time Magazine Archive
The show closed after 36 performances, and she switched to Graham Greene's Complaisant Lover, which starred Sir Michael Redgrave.
From Time Magazine Archive
Complaisant historians express their admiring wonder at these "hundreds of thousands of men fighting with their eyes doggedly fixed upon the Holy Sepulchre and dying in order to conquer it."
From Rashi by Szold, Adele
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.
