comply

[kuhm-plahy]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR comply ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), com·plied, com·ply·ing.

to act or be in accordance with wishes, requests, demands, requirements, conditions, etc.; agree (sometimes followed by with): They asked him to leave and he complied. She has complied with the requirements.

Obsolete. to be courteous or conciliatory.

Origin of comply

1595–1605; < Italian complire < Spanish cumplir (see compliment) to fulfill, accomplish < Latin complēre, equivalent to com- com- + plē- fill + -re infinitive suffix

Related formsun·com·ply·ing, adjective

Synonyms for comply

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR comply ON THESAURUS.COM

1. acquiesce, yield, conform, obey, consent, assent.

Antonyms for comply

1. refuse, resist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for complied

satisfy, quit, obey, acquiesce, submit, observe, defer, accord, accede, ditto, perform, mind, yield, keep, fold, fulfill, discharge, respect

Examples from the Web for complied

Contemporary Examples of complied

Chan ordered the man to put it down and the ensuing criminal complaint would say that he complied.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop
Michael Daly
December 16, 2014
Sylvia insisted that Ted move out and he complied, going to stay in London.
Ted Hughes’s Brother on Losing Sylvia Plath
Gerald Hughes
December 2, 2014
Angleton complied, and Tony finally set the thing on fire “with a friend as witness.”
The Bizarre Tale of Ben Bradlee, JFK, and the Master Spy
Will Rahn
October 22, 2014
Davis said he complied and that a female officer straddled and then handcuffed him.
The Day Ferguson Cops Were Caught in a Bloody Lie
Michael Daly
August 15, 2014
The cameramen hollered to him and turned him this way and that and he complied reluctantly, never relaxing.
One Red Rose for the Green Kid Who Won the Kentucky Derby
Red Smith
May 3, 2014

Historical Examples of complied

Let us see, whether we are to be complied with in any thing, or not.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
I know they expect a great deal from it: you had not else had your long day complied with.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Mrs. Sliderskew complied, and inquired what the next one was.
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens
He complied as to the chair, but appeared to find the speaking on less easy.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
If you had held your aversion, it would have been complied with.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for complied

comply

verb -plies, -plying or -plied (intr)

(usually foll by with) to act in accordance with rules, wishes, etc; be obedient (to)

obsolete to be obedient or complaisant

Derived Formscomplier, noun

Word Origin for comply

C17: from Italian complire, from Spanish cumplir to complete; see compliment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for complied

comply

early 14c., "to fulfill, carry out," from Old French compli, past participle of complir "to accomplish, fulfill, carry out," from Vulgar Latin *complire, from Latin complere "to fill up" (see complete (adj.)). Meaning influenced by ply (v.2). Sense of "to consent" began c.1600 and might have been a reintroduction from Italian, where complire had come to mean "satisfy by 'filling up' the forms of courtesy."