Meaning & use
compliance
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Meanings
noununcountableformal
The act of following a rule, law, standard or request.
Grammar: Usually followed by with: compliance with the law.
Patterns
- compliance with something
- in compliance with something
The factory is in compliance with safety rules.
Failure to ensure compliance may lead to fines.
The company hired an officer to monitor compliance.
noununcountableformal
A willingness to agree with others or do as one is told.
Grammar: Sometimes describes an overly yielding attitude.
The child's compliance surprised her parents.
The guard demanded immediate compliance.
Common combinations
- in compliance with
- The report is in compliance with regulations.
- ensure compliance
- Auditors ensure compliance.
- regulatory compliance
- Regulatory compliance costs are high.
- compliance officer
- The compliance officer reviewed the contract.
Synonyms and how they differ
- conformity
- Conformity means matching a standard or group, not only following rules.
- obedience
- Obedience is personal and about following orders.
- adherence
- Adherence suggests sticking closely to a rule or plan.
Opposites
Word family
- comply verb
- to follow a rule
- compliant adjective
- following rules
- noncompliance noun
- failure to comply
Commonly confused: compliance or compliment?
compliance vs compliment
A compliment is praise; compliance is following rules.
Practice
The restaurant passed inspection because it was in ______ with food safety rules.
Choose one answer.
Compliance with means following rules. The other words are confusable but mean something else.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compliance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.