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complaisant

adjective
comĀ·​plaiĀ·​sant | \ kəm-Ėˆplā-sįµŠnt How to pronounce complaisant (audio) , -zįµŠnt; ĖŒkƤm-plā-Ėˆzant, -plə-, -ĖˆzƤnt\

Definition of complaisant

1 : marked by an inclination to please or oblige
2 : tending to consent to others' wishes
Other Words from complaisant Choose the Right Synonym Complaisant or Complacent? Example Sentences Learn More about complaisant

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Other Words from complaisant

complaisantly adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for complaisant

amiable, good-natured, obliging, complaisant mean having the desire or disposition to please. amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with. an amiable teacher not easily annoyed good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon. a good-natured girl who was always willing to pitch in obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful. our obliging innkeeper found us a bigger room complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness. was too complaisant to protest a decision he thought unfair

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.

Examples of complaisant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 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, "Trump to meet Putin, Xi at G-20, but with unclear goals, expectations are low," 26 June 2019 Chief executives of the territory have become steadily more complaisant to Chinaā€™s wishes, say critics. — Gerard Baker, WSJ, "Hong Kongā€™s Flickering Hopes for Freedom," 21 June 2019 Greedy club owners and complaisant sportswriters contrived a persona for him as a mash-up of Liā€™l Abner and Paul Bunyan, a devoted family man and humble Hall of Famer. — Edward Kosner, WSJ, "ā€˜A Season in the Sunā€™ Review: Those Werenā€™t the Days," 12 Apr. 2018 Onstage, there was absolutely nothing complaisant about her. — Jon Pareles, New York Times, "South by Southwest Music Festival: 17 Acts That Stood Out," 18 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'complaisant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of complaisant

1638, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for complaisant

French, from Middle French, from present participle of complaire to gratify, acquiesce, from Latin complacēre

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More Definitions for complaisant

complaisant

adjective
How to pronounce complaisant (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of complaisant

formal : willing or eager to please other people : easily convinced to do what other people want

See the full definition for complaisant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

More from Merriam-Webster on complaisant

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with complaisant

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for complaisant

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