Complacent means “un-worried” or “self-satisfied.” It describes a person who is not concerned when maybe they should be concerned.
It is unacceptable to be complacent about climate change, because we can all do things to make life better for future generations.
Complaisant means “agreeable” or “obliging”—happily going along with others’ wishes or trying to make people happy.
It is remarkable that a man as un-complaisant as Donald Trump gained such a loyal following.
It is easy to remember the meaning of complaisant because it contains -plais, which is related to the words please and pleasure, while the root -plac in complacent is related to the word placid (peaceful). Really, both words have the same Latin root, with complacent based on the Latin spelling, placere, and complaisant based on the French version; as is usual in English, the French-derived word has high-style connotations; it is used more in literature or professional writing than in conversation.
Complicit is to be involved in a wrongdoing. One can be complicit by participating in the wrongdoing, or by not taking an action to stop it. A person can also be complicit by promoting, condoning, supporting, or enabling the wrong-doing.
The CEO is not only responsible for but is complicit with the company's wrongdoing.
He was charged with burglary, but his accomplice was also charged with being complicit in the crime.
More Examples of How to Use "Complacent" in a Sentence
- The residents of the retirement community had become complacent and were no longer concerned with any of the renovations that needed to be done.
- Patty felt so guilty because he had been complacent and not sought medical help earlier.
- “Complacent and indecisive people are a threat to the progress of the world!” my uncle shouted.
- The complacency of the voters gave rise to a new dictator.
- I admit that I've had a complacent attitude for too long, and now I'm ready to wake up and do something new.
- Being complacent is never the answer, you need to take the bull by the horns and go for it!
- Ron knew he was becoming complacent at work, but he didn't want to admit it, and even worse: he didn’t know how to start caring again.
- People in relationships can become complacent and take their partner for granted.
- The company became complacent after they had dominated the market for so many years, allowing younger, more innovative, companies to start chipping away at market share.
- Before the data hack, the company had become complacent about its security system and didn't think that they needed to upgrade it.
More Examples of How to Use "Complaisant" in a Sentence
- A complaisant person is someone who is willing to please or comply with others.
- I was always a complaisant and obedient child, probably to a fault.
- Roberto is a complaisant, understanding, and caring person, who gets a bad rap.
- Pamela was a complaisant wife who always did what her husband wanted, but she decided that going forward, she would answer to herself.
- Some say that the government was too complaisant in its response to the protests, resulting from political favoritism.
- My date last night was a little too complaisant for my taste and I found her annoying—I prefer that my date be able to speak up for herself.
- The salesman made several suggestions to the customer, but the customer was not complaisant and refused to buy.
- The teacher's complaisant attitude towards the students led to a lot of disruptions in class.
- Coach Jones was worried that his complaisant attitude toward his players had weakened their fortitude.
- My older sister is always complaisant and follows all the rules of the house, except when our parents aren’t home.
More Examples of How to Use "Complicit" in a Sentence
- The company was complicit in the illegal dumping of toxic waste.
- Some people believe that the media is complicit in the spread of fake news, though such people often have a very flexible definition of fake news.
- Sue and Greg were both complicit in the crime, and they received a nearly identical prison sentence.
- The CEO was not complicit in the fraud, but he was aware of it, which made his failure to act a gross violation of his ethical responsibilities.
- Pam was clearly complicit in the scheme to defraud the insurance company, yet she unconvincingly maintains her innocence.
- The senator was complicit in the bribery scandal, but shockingly, his voters didn't seem to care.
- Several employees were found to be complicit in the embezzlement scheme.
- The judge sentenced the defendant to five years in prison for his complicity in the robbery.
- It was Frank's car that was used in the robbery, so he was complicit in the crime.