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comply

v.
US //kəmˈpɫaɪ// UK //kəmplˈaɪ// com·ply
  1. 1 to follow rules (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to obey a rule, a law, or a formal request.

    to act in accordance with a command, set of rules, or legal requirements. Intransitive, typically followed by the preposition 'with'.

    Example

    All visitors must comply with the hospital's safety rules while inside.

    Example

    Failure to comply with the updated environmental regulations could result in significant fines for the manufacturing plant.

    Usage

    Always used with the preposition 'with' before the rule or requirement being followed.
    Pitfall
    The company must comply the new safety laws.
    The company must comply with the new safety laws.

    You cannot use 'comply' directly with an object; you must use the preposition 'with'.

  2. 2 to fulfill or accomplish (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic

    to finish or complete a task or a promise.

    to bring to completion or to fulfill a requirement or prophecy.

    Example

    The knight sought to comply his vow to the king.

    Example

    The ancient prophecy was finally complied when the two kingdoms were united under a single banner.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is archaic and rarely found in modern speech; learners will primarily encounter it in pre-20th-century literature.
Origin

From Italian complire, Catalan complir (“to complete, fulfil; to carry out”), Spanish cumplir (“to complete, fulfil”), (alternatively from Old French compli), from Latin complēre, from compleō (“to finish, complete; to fulfil”), from com- (prefix indicating completeness of an act) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm (“beside, near; by, with”)) + pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The word is very close to the French verb complaire which means to satisfy or to please. The word is also cognate with Old French complir (“to accomplish, complete; to do”) (modern French accomplir (“to accomplish, achieve”)). Compare complete, compliment.

Word family

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