complacent
adjective
com·pla·cent
kəm-ˈplā-sᵊnt 
1
: marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies : marked by complacency : self-satisfied
a complacent smile
2
: complaisant sense 1
complacent flattery
3
complacently
adverb
Examples of complacent in a Sentence
… I gazed at my mother's poised, beautiful profile as her face turned from side to side, calm or complacent, accepting what the route offered.
—
Donald Hall, Atlantic, October 1996
Mr. Davis organized his second great quintet in the mid-60's, but by then jazz had taken a new turn and many felt he had become passé, a complacent peacock.
—Gary Giddins, New York Times Book Review, 15 Oct. 1989
… he hopes to break through the reader's complacent indifference, make him aware of his predicament, and force him to take sides.
—Monroe K. Spears, American Ambitions, 1987
Lord Lathkill … was so completely unostentatious, so very willing to pay all the attention to me, and yet so subtly complacent, so unquestionably sure of his position.
—D. H. Lawrence, The Complete Short Stories Volume III, (1922) 1981
The strong economy has made people complacent.
We have grown too complacent over the years.
We can't afford to be complacent about illiteracy.
Donald Hall, Atlantic, October 1996
Mr. Davis organized his second great quintet in the mid-60's, but by then jazz had taken a new turn and many felt he had become passé, a complacent peacock.
—Gary Giddins, New York Times Book Review, 15 Oct. 1989
… he hopes to break through the reader's complacent indifference, make him aware of his predicament, and force him to take sides.
—Monroe K. Spears, American Ambitions, 1987
Lord Lathkill … was so completely unostentatious, so very willing to pay all the attention to me, and yet so subtly complacent, so unquestionably sure of his position.
—D. H. Lawrence, The Complete Short Stories Volume III, (1922) 1981
The strong economy has made people complacent.
We have grown too complacent over the years.
We can't afford to be complacent about illiteracy.
Recent Examples on the Web
But, at a time when the legislative branch has been shamefully supine and the public has been alarmingly complacent, the federal courts represent the last best hope—at least, until the midterm elections—of combatting Trump’s outrages against the Constitution.
—Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Alligators are quite common in Florida, but Spencer urges others not to get complacent.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Though May 11 — the date Mother’s Day falls on this year — might seem lightyears away, don’t grow too complacent and make the all-too-common mistake of forgetting to secure Mom, or the mother figure in your life, a gift until the very last moment.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 31 Mar. 2025
That refusal to be complacent is the reason Ragans is here, the Royals’ Opening Day starter, the fourth-place finisher in the Cy Young race and a trendy pick to win the award this year.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for complacent
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Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Alligators are quite common in Florida, but Spencer urges others not to get complacent.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Though May 11 — the date Mother’s Day falls on this year — might seem lightyears away, don’t grow too complacent and make the all-too-common mistake of forgetting to secure Mom, or the mother figure in your life, a gift until the very last moment.
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 31 Mar. 2025
That refusal to be complacent is the reason Ragans is here, the Royals’ Opening Day starter, the fourth-place finisher in the Cy Young race and a trendy pick to win the award this year.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for complacent
Cite this Entry
“Complacent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/complacent. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
complacent
adjective
com·pla·cent
kəm-ˈplās-ᵊnt
1
: marked by complacency : self-satisfied
a complacent smile
2
: feeling or showing complaisance
complacently
adverb
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