complaisant

[ kuhm-pley-suhnt, -zuhnt, kom-pluh-zant ]

adjective

1. inclined or disposed to please; obliging; agreeable or gracious; compliant:

   the most complaisant child I've ever met.

complaisant

/ kəmˈpleɪzənt /

adjective

1. showing a desire to comply or oblige; polite

Derived Forms

• comˈplaisantly, adverb

Other Words From

• com·plaisant·ly adverb
• noncom·plaisant adjective
• noncom·plaisant·ly adverb
• uncom·plaisant adjective
• uncom·plaisant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of complaisant¹

1640–50; < French (present participle of complaire ) < Latin complacent- (stem of complacēns, present participle of complacēre; complacent )

Word History and Origins

Origin of complaisant¹

C17: from French complaire, from Latin complacēre to please greatly; compare complacent

Example Sentences

Private institutional investors such as BlackRock and Vanguard tend to be more complaisant about CEO pay — except for European funds.

From Los Angeles Times

She opined that modern journalists, like herself, had helped to "normalise the absurd" and that going forward "whilst we do not have to be campaigners, nor should we be complaisant, complicit, onlookers."

From BBC

But Post Malone’s signature aesthetic gesture is the smear, the complaisant way his voice molds neatly to whatever’s handed to him.

From New York Times

Abe, who hosted Trump in Tokyo a month ago and has been as complaisant as any world leader in courting the unpredictable U.S. president, has little to show for his efforts.

From Los Angeles Times

The Federal Trade Commission has been especially complaisant—it is only now getting around to fining Facebook for failing to abide by its 2011 consent decree intended to protect users’ privacy.

From The New Yorker