Home of English Grammar

Free Guide (Updated for 2022)

  • Home
  • Download Lessons
  • Grammar Rules
  • Online Exercises
  • Online Tools
    • Grammar Checker
    • Word Counter
  • Guides
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Difference / Complacent vs. Complaisant

Complacent vs. Complaisant

February 15, 2018 - pdf

Not only do the words complacent and complaisant have similar sounds, they also originate from the same Latin word complacere, which means “to please or to be pleasant.” These similarities causes confusion among some writers. However, these two terms actually have very different meanings. This post will help you distinguish between the two and enable you to use them correctly in your sentences.

The word complacent is most commonly used as an adjective meaning “marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies” or “showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.” Its noun form is complacency.

Britain’s top prosecutor blasted as ‘complacent’ after insisting that nobody has been wrongly jailed in rape trials farce
Daily Mail

Don’t Be Complacent About Italy’s Elections
Bloomberg

No Time For Complacency For U.S. Banks
Forbes

On the other hand, the term complaisant functions as an adjective meaning “marked by an inclination to please or oblige,” “willing to please others,” or “tending to consent to others’ wishes.” Its noun form is complaisance.

“If you succeeded in overcoming challenges with perseverance drive and yet you are still an interesting person, congratulations, because the system has been trying to erode you into a bland, complaisant productivity tool.”
Huffington Post

“Thus it was rendered to us great honour and complaisance.”
NIH

The art of complaisance, or, The means to oblige in conversation
University of Michigan

Now that we’ve discussed the differences between complacent and complaisant, you should be able to use these words more accurately in your writing. Remember that complacent is being self-satisfied without awareness of deficiencies while complaisant is having the tendency to please others.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
1,127,749 
201,073 

Check Your Grammar

GrammarCheck.net - Try online
Hint → Bookmark GrammarCheck for future use.

Latest Exercises

  • Will vs. Would June 26, 2022
  • See vs. Look vs. Watch June 23, 2022
  • General Grammar Exercise June 21, 2022
  • Tenses Gap Filling Exercise June 21, 2022
  • Gap Filling Exercise June 20, 2022
  • Subject Verb Agreement Exercise June 20, 2022
  • Prepositions Exercise June 19, 2022
  • Gap Filling Exercise June 19, 2022
  • Tenses Exercise June 18, 2022

Topics

  • Adjectives
  • Adverbs
  • Business Writing
  • Commas
  • Conjunctions
  • Creative Writing
  • Difference
  • Essay Writing
  • Exercises
  • Learning
  • Lessons
  • Nouns
  • Prepositions
  • Pronouns
  • Proofreading
  • Punctuation
  • Quiz
  • Spelling
  • Style Guide
  • Teaching
  • Terms
  • Verbs
  • Words
  • Writing

Quiz

  • Can you correct these 14 basic grammar mistakes?
  • What kind of writer are you?

Copyright © 2022 · EnglishGrammar.org
Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap