compliant
Americanadjective
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complying; obeying, obliging, or yielding, especially in a submissive way.
a man with a compliant nature.
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manufactured or produced in accordance with a specified body of rules (usually used in combination).
Energy Star-compliant computers.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of compliant
Explanation
If you are willing to submit to someone's request, then you are compliant. Parents like it when their teenagers are compliant and follow the rules. Teenagers, on the other hand, are probably not as compliant as parents would like to think! The adjective compliant can also describe something that conforms or is agreeable. "The lawyers made sure that the man's will was fully compliant with state law, so that his children could not contest his desire to leave his entire estate to his dog, Fluffy." If you buy computer software that is not compliant with your operating system, it won't work properly.
Vocabulary lists containing compliant
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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The Poet X
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The Sun Is Also a Star
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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.
Embassy in Caracas, told reporters this week that Rodríguez’s government “has been fully compliant in terms of our requests to advance this massive humanitarian response.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026
Rather, it "designated Alibaba without notice or a fair hearing", the compliant notes.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
When his SolarCity solar energy company ran into financial trouble in 2016, he merged it into Tesla with the assent of a compliant Tesla board.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
That means Ford batteries, made in America, are compliant with Foreign Entity of Concern lists.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Whether truly loyal or merely desperate, a compliant river lord might have his uses.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
