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Meaning & use

complacence

noun·Advancedformaldisapproving

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UK/kəmˈpleɪsəns/
US/kəmˈpleɪsəns/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.

Meanings

  1. noununcountabledisapproving

    a feeling of quiet satisfaction with your own situation that makes you stop trying to improve or notice dangers.

    Grammar: Uncountable: no plural; used after verbs like 'show', 'breed', or 'lead to'.

    Patterns

    • complacence about something
    • a sense of complacence
    • breed complacence
    • lead to complacence

    The team's early success led to complacence, and they lost the final match.

    There is a growing complacence about climate change among some politicians.

    Her complacence about the risks made the other engineers nervous.

  2. noununcountableformalrareliterary

    a polite or self-satisfied pleasure in pleasing someone, or in being pleased.

    Grammar: Rare and literary; usually appears in older texts, not in everyday speech.

    Patterns

    • complacence in something
    • with complacence

    He smiled with complacence at the praise from his colleagues.

    The old letters are full of complacence and gentle flattery.

Common combinations

breed complacence
Easy victories can breed complacence in a young team.
complacence about
His complacence about safety rules worried the inspector.
a sense of complacence
A sense of complacence spread through the company after the good sales figures.
lead to complacence
Repeated praise can lead to complacence rather than improvement.

Synonyms and how they differ

complacency
The much more common form; it means the same self-satisfaction but is used in everyday as well as formal writing.
self-satisfaction
A plain, neutral term; it does not always carry the warning of danger that 'complacence' does.
smugness
Stronger and more negative; it suggests annoying pride in being better than others.

Opposites

alertnessconcern

Word family

complacent adjective
too satisfied with yourself and therefore not careful or hard-working.
complacently adverb
in a self-satisfied way that shows no worry.
complacency noun
the usual noun form meaning self-satisfaction.

Commonly confused: complacence or complaisance? complacence or complacency?

complacence vs complaisance

This rare word means a willingness to please others, not self-satisfaction. It is spelled with 'ais', not 'ac'.

complacence vs complacency

The two words mean the same, but 'complacency' is far more common and should be used in everyday writing.

Practice

Choose the best word to complete the sentence: After three easy wins, the players showed signs of _____ and stopped training hard.

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