complaisant
adjective
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Complaisant or Complacent?
The homophones complaisant and complacent are often confused - and no wonder. Not only do they look and sound alike, but they also both derive ultimately from Latin complacēre, meaning "to please greatly." Complacent usually means "self-satisfied" or "unconcerned," but it also shares with complaisant the sense of "marked by an inclination to please or oblige." This sense of complacent is an old one, but that hasn't kept language critics from labeling it as an error - and on the whole, modern writers do prefer complaisant for this meaning. Conversely, complaisant is sometimes mistakenly used in contexts such as "complaisant about injustices," where complacent, with its sense of "marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies," should go. One aid is to remember that with the preposition "about," you probably want complacent.
Example Sentences
Edward Kosner, WSJ, 20 June 2022 Administrations since have learned not to be so complaisant. WSJ, 20 May 2022 Abe, who hosted Trump in Tokyo a month ago and has been as complaisant as any world leader in courting the unpredictable U.S. president, has little to show for his efforts. Tracy Wilkinson, latimes.com, 26 June 2019 Chief executives of the territory have become steadily more complaisant to China’s wishes, say critics. Gerard Baker, WSJ, 21 June 2019 Greedy club owners and complaisant sportswriters contrived a persona for him as a mash-up of Li’l Abner and Paul Bunyan, a devoted family man and humble Hall of Famer. Edward Kosner, WSJ, 12 Apr. 2018 Onstage, there was absolutely nothing complaisant about her. Jon Pareles, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2018 See More Word History
French, from Middle French, from present participle of complaire to gratify, acquiesce, from Latin complacēre
1638, in the meaning defined at sense 1
complaisant
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- gracious
- friendly
- obliging
- agreeable
- amenable
- thoughtful
- solicitous
- helpful
- accommodating
- accommodative
- indulgent
- considerate
- lenient
- permissive
- overindulgent
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of complaisant are amiable, good-natured, and obliging. While all these words mean "having the desire or disposition to please," complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness.
The words amiable and complaisant can be used in similar contexts, but amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with.
The meanings of good-natured and complaisant largely overlap; however, good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon.
The words obliging and complaisant are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful.