complacent
Americanadjective
-
pleased, especially with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied.
The voters are too complacent to change the government.
- Synonyms:
- untroubled, unbothered, smug
-
agreeable and eager to please.
adjective
-
pleased or satisfied, esp extremely self-satisfied
-
an obsolete word for complaisant
Other Word Forms
- complacently adverb
- noncomplacent adjective
- overcomplacent adjective
- uncomplacent adjective
Etymology
Origin of complacent
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin complacent- (stem of complacēns, present participle of complacēre “to take the fancy of, please,” equivalent to com- “with, together, completely” ( com- ) + placēre “to seem good” ( please )
Compare meaning
How does complacent compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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 the late ’70s, DeLorean struck out on his own, in part because he thought the industry had become complacent in aesthetics and quality.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
The first is that fund managers are surprisingly — some might say alarmingly — complacent about the stock market.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026
Unlike the long-ago transition to the cloud, which undid many existing software firms, incumbents aren’t being complacent this time around.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
"They certainly shouldn't be complacent and they should always remain vigilant and that's a message I will continue to try and push."
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
He wished she would not be so complacent about it.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
