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.
The company was name-checked by the president, who said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was working to bring the company into the U.S. “in a fully compliant legal fashion.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Spirit said it is “engaging a third party to deidentify the data and certify that the data sold at auction is compliant with applicable privacy laws and regulations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
“The fact that the person worked extra to be compliant to the PIP deliverables shows me that they care,” Boccardo says.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Det Insp Mark Paterson said: "It's an ongoing investigation. A lot of the material is held by ISHA, who are fully compliant with requests that are being made at this stage."
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Still, to be too compliant may arouse suspicion as well.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
