Meaning & use

complacent

adjective·Academic

Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements, often leading to a lack of effort.

See it in a sentence

After years of success, the company grew complacent and stopped innovating.

Don't get complacent just because you won the first game of the series.

A note on using this word

Complacent carries a negative undertone, implying dangerous or unwarranted satisfaction rather than simple contentment.

Words with a similar meaning

self-satisfiedsmug

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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