complacent
/kəmˈpleɪ.sənt/Too pleased or satisfied with yourself or your situation, so that you stop trying to improve or fail to notice real problems. The word almost always carries a negative warning — complacency leads to failure.
- After three easy wins, the team grew complacent and lost the final.
- Don't get complacent — the exam is harder than it looks.
- The company became complacent and missed a major shift in the market.
Adinary Nuance
The closest near-neighbor is content, but the two point in opposite directions: content is a positive state — you are peacefully happy with what you have — while complacent is a red flag, meaning you are so comfortable that you have stopped paying attention or making effort. Smug is another neighbor, but it stresses openly showing superiority to others, whereas complacent is more about internal inaction — a quiet, dangerous stillness. Self-satisfied overlaps closely but can sometimes be used neutrally or even approvingly; complacent, by contrast, almost always signals that something bad is about to happen as a result. In IELTS and academic writing, complacent is the go-to word when the argument is "success bred laziness" or "comfort prevented progress."
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- tự mãn
- Spanish
- complaciente
- Chinese
- 自满
- Japanese
- 自満
- Korean
- 자만
Etymology
From Latin "complacēre" meaning "to please greatly," combining "com-" (with) and "placēre" (to please). It entered English in the 17th century meaning simply "pleased," but by the 18th century had shifted to its modern, cautionary sense of being harmfully over-satisfied.
Common phrases
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between 'complacent' and 'content'?
- 'Content' is positive — you feel calm and happy with your situation. 'Complacent' is negative — you are so satisfied that you stop trying or stop noticing problems. A person can be content without being complacent.
- Is 'complacent' always used in a negative way?
- Almost always, yes. When someone calls you complacent, it is a criticism — it means your comfort is making you careless or lazy. There is no positive version of this word in modern English.
- Is 'complacent' a formal word? Can I use it in IELTS writing?
- 'Complacent' is a mid-to-high register word — perfectly natural in IELTS essays, academic reports, and business writing. It fits well in arguments about why organisations or societies fail to address problems in time.
- What is the noun form of 'complacent'?
- The noun is 'complacency' (e.g., 'a culture of complacency'). You will see this form very often in academic and news writing when describing systemic or organisational failure.