What does complaisant mean?
Complaisant is an adjective describing someone who is eager to please and quick to comply with the wishes of others — agreeable, obliging, and deferential in temperament. A complaisant person accommodates requests willingly and avoids giving offense, whether out of genuine amiability or a reluctance to assert their own preferences. The word is relatively formal and appears more often in literary or journalistic prose than everyday speech, and it is somewhat more common in British than American English. It frequently carries a faintly critical connotation: a 'complaisant husband,' 'complaisant witness,' or 'complaisant press' suggests someone whose agreeableness shades into weakness, excessive deference, or a failure to challenge what they should resist. The word must not be confused with its near-homophone 'complacent,' which means smugly self-satisfied — an entirely different fault. Derived from French, complaisant ultimately traces back to a Latin root meaning 'to please.' Its noun form is complaisance, meaning the quality or act of being obliging.
Willing to please others and ready to comply with their wishes; showing an obliging, agreeable, and deferential disposition.
"She was too complaisant to refuse her employer's unreasonable demands."
Often used with a slightly disapproving tone when the willingness to please implies weak-mindedness or servility.
(Of actions, conduct, or things) characterized by or marked by compliance with another's wishes; accommodating to others' preferences rather than one's own.
"His complaisance extended even to letting his brother choose the family holiday destination."
Despite sounding nearly identical to 'complacent,' 'complaisant' means almost the opposite — it describes someone who can't say no to other people, not someone who's pleased with themselves.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of complaisant
Complaisant entered English from French in the 17th century, borrowed from the French adjective complaisant, meaning 'obliging' or 'gracious.' Both derive from the Latin verb complacere, 'to please greatly' or 'to be well pleased,' formed from com- ('with, together') plus placere ('to please') — the same root that gives us 'please,' 'placate,' 'placebo,' and 'complacent.' Because complaisant and complacent share this origin and differ by only one letter, they have been confused since at least the 18th century, when writers like Samuel Johnson noted the distinction.
Related word forms
How complaisant is actually used
A somewhat formal or literary word, more common in British usage than American. It carries a mildly negative undertone when the eagerness to please seems excessive or spineless, as in 'a complaisant press.' Do not confuse it with 'complacent' (self-satisfied). The corresponding noun is 'complaisance.'
Easily confused with complaisant
Complacent means smugly self-satisfied and uncritically content, whereas complaisant means eager to please and oblige others.