Dictionary

complacency en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /kəmˈpleɪsənˌsiː/

Etymology

Late Middle English complacence, from Late Latin complacentia. Compare French complaisance.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble.
   • Others proclaim the infirmities of a great man with satisfaction and complacency, if they discover none of the like in themselves. 1712 January 3 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SUNDAY, December 24, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 256; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
   • […] looking at Mr. George Osborne's pale interesting countenance, and those beautiful black, curling, shining whiskers, which the young gentleman himself regarded with no ordinary complacency, she thought in her little heart that in His Majesty's army, or in the wide world, there never was such a face or such a hero. 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 5, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
   • "However, incidents such as the derailment at Walton-on-Thames clearly show us that there is no room for complacency." 2025 March 5, “Network News: RAIB report: rail left on the track derailed train travelling at 85mph”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 13:
   • There was something pathetic in his concentration as if his complacency, more acute than of old, was not enough to him any more. When, almost immediately, the telephone rang inside and the butler left the porch Daisy seized upon the momentary interruption and leaned toward me. 1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter 1, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN:
2. (countable, uncountable) An instance of self-satisfaction.
3. (countable, uncountable) Passivity as a result of contentment with the current situation.

Forms

Deriveds

overcomplacency · automation complacency · self-complacency

Relateds

complacent

Translations (44)

es suficiencia (feeling of self-satisfaction) · de Selbstgefälligkeit (feeling of self-satisfaction) · de Bequemlichkeit (feeling of self-satisfaction) · hu önhittség (feeling of self-satisfaction) · eo memkontento (feeling of self-satisfaction) · fi mielihyvä (feeling of self-satisfaction) · pl samozadowolenie (instance of self-satisfaction) · ro automulțumire (feeling of self-satisfaction) · es autocomplacencia (feeling of self-satisfaction) · ro autoîncântare (feeling of self-satisfaction) · hu elégedettség (feeling of self-satisfaction) · ru самодово́льство (feeling of self-satisfaction) · fr complaisance (instance of self-satisfaction) · nl zelfgenoegzaamheid (feeling of self-satisfaction) · tr rehavet (feeling of self-satisfaction) · sh samozadovoljstvo (feeling of self-satisfaction) · it autocompiacimento (feeling of self-satisfaction) · fi itsetyytyväisyys (feeling of self-satisfaction) · cs samolibost (feeling of self-satisfaction) · uk самозадово́леність (feeling of self-satisfaction) · de Selbstzufriedenheit (feeling of self-satisfaction) · hu önteltség (feeling of self-satisfaction) · pl samozadowolenie (feeling of self-satisfaction) · uk самовдово́леність (feeling of self-satisfaction) · is sjálfumgleði (feeling of self-satisfaction) · fi tyytyväisyys (feeling of self-satisfaction) · fa خودرضامندی (feeling of self-satisfaction) · el εφησυχασμός (feeling of self-satisfaction) · fr suffisance (feeling of self-satisfaction) · gd somaltachd (feeling of self-satisfaction) · it compiacimento (feeling of self-satisfaction) · cmn 自滿 /自满 (feeling of self-satisfaction) · pt desvanecimento (feeling of self-satisfaction) · nl zelftevredenheid (feeling of self-satisfaction) · cs sebeuspokojení (feeling of self-satisfaction) · sv självbelåtenhet (feeling of self-satisfaction) · is sjálfsánægja (feeling of self-satisfaction) · nb selvtilfredshet (feeling of self-satisfaction) · de Wohlbehagen (feeling of self-satisfaction) · it autostima (feeling of self-satisfaction) · el αυταρέσκεια (feeling of self-satisfaction) · ru самоуве́ренность (feeling of self-satisfaction) · cs uspokojení (feeling of self-satisfaction) · hu önelégültség (feeling of self-satisfaction)