ENGLISH
REFERENCE

complacent

adj.
C1 Advanced US //kəmˈpɫeɪsənt// UK //kəmplˈeɪsənt// com·pla·cent

adj. feeling so satisfied with your own success or situation that you stop trying to improve. It is often used as a warning because this feeling can lead to lazy mistakes.

adj. showing uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements, often accompanied by an unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. Typically used predicatively after linking verbs or attributively to describe an attitude.


SIMPLE

We cannot become complacent just because we are winning.

CONTEXTUAL

The company became complacent after years of market dominance and failed to notice its competitors catching up.

COMPLEX

Success often breeds a complacent attitude in established institutions, making them vulnerable to more agile and innovative startups that are still hungry for growth.

Synonyms
Origin

Borrowed from Latin complacēns (“very pleasing”), present participle of complacēre (“to please at the same time, be very pleasing”), from com- (“together”) + placēre (“to please”); see please and compare complaisant.

Usage

Often follows linking verbs like 'become', 'get', or 'remain'. Frequently takes the preposition 'about' to indicate the subject of the satisfaction.

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