What does complacence mean?
Complacence is a noun describing calm, uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's situation. In its most common modern use it carries a cautionary tone: it names the smug ease that sets in when things seem to be going well, dulling awareness of danger or fault — a team's winning streak, for example, can breed a complacence that costs them everything. An older, milder sense simply denotes contentment, as in resting after honest work with quiet complacence. The word derives from Latin complacere, 'to please greatly,' via the noun complacentia, making it a sibling of 'complacent' and 'complacency.' Today 'complacency' has largely displaced 'complacence' in everyday English, but 'complacence' persists in literary and formal writing, where its slightly old-fashioned air suits reflective prose. Careful writers distinguish it from 'complaisance,' which means an obliging desire to please others — a near-homophone with nearly opposite connotations.
nounA feeling of calm satisfaction or contentment with oneself or one's situation; often a self-satisfied state that leads to unawareness of dangers or shortcomings.
- Calm, uncritical self-satisfaction with one's achievements or circumstances, sometimes to the point of ignoring risks or faults.
- A general feeling of contentment or ease (a milder, less pejorative sense).
"The team's early success bred a dangerous complacence that cost them the championship."
"Years of uninterrupted growth had lulled the company into a quiet complacence about its competitors."
"He regarded the finished garden with a gentle complacence, pleased with what his hands had made."
'Complacence' and 'complaisance' look like twins but mean opposite things: one is smugly satisfied with yourself, the other is eagerly eager to please everyone else.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of complacence
Complacence comes from Latin complacentia, a derivative of the verb complacere, formed from com- ('together, thoroughly') plus placere ('to please'). The word entered English in the early seventeenth century, initially carrying the neutral sense of pleasure or contentment before acquiring its more familiar pejorative shade of smug self-satisfaction. Its Latin root also underlies related words such as 'pleasant,' 'please,' and 'complaisance,' the last borrowed through French with a shift toward the meaning 'obliging.'
Related word forms
How complacence is actually used
Register is formal-to-neutral and the word appears chiefly in literary and editorial writing. It is now largely a less common variant of 'complacency'. The negative, critical sense (smugness that invites danger) dominates modern usage, though an older, neutral sense of simple contentment survives in older texts.
Easily confused with complacence
Complacence means smug self-satisfaction, while complaisance means an obliging willingness to please others.
Complacence and complacency share essentially the same meaning, but complacency is far more common in modern usage.