What does complicitous mean?
'Complicitous' is an adjective describing someone who shares in the guilt or responsibility for a wrongful act committed with others. A person who is complicitous in something has helped bring it about or allowed it to happen, whether through direct action or through silent acquiescence. The word is a longer, rarer variant of the much more common 'complicit', and the two are interchangeable in meaning, though style guides and everyday usage overwhelmingly favor the shorter form. 'Complicitous' tends to appear in formal contexts such as journalism, scholarship, and legal commentary, and it usually takes the preposition 'in': one is complicitous in a fraud, a cover-up, or an injustice. Its connotations are strongly negative, implying moral failure rather than mere association. It derives ultimately from the Latin verb 'plicare', meaning 'to fold', via the notion of being folded together with another in a shared deed.
adjectiveInvolved in or helping to commit wrongdoing together with others; sharing guilt or responsibility for a wrongful act. A fuller variant of the more common word 'complicit'.
- Sharing responsibility or guilt for wrongdoing alongside others; being an accomplice to a wrongful act.
"The auditors were complicitous in concealing the firm's mounting losses."
"The officials were complicitous in the cover-up, having known about the falsified reports for months."
"By staying silent during the meeting, she felt complicitous in a decision she privately opposed."
Despite sounding like an elaborate legal term, 'complicitous' simply means what 'complicit' means — it's the same accusation wearing a longer coat.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of complicitous
Complicitous derives from 'complicity' and its older root 'complice', which entered English in the 15th century from French 'complice', itself from Late Latin 'complex', meaning an associate or partner. The Latin word combines the prefix 'com-' ('together') with 'plicare' ('to fold'), so the underlying image is of people folded together in a single undertaking. English also formed the adjective 'complicit' directly from 'complicity' in the early 20th century; 'complicitous' arose as a parallel adjectival formation on the same noun, and remains the less common of the two.
How complicitous is actually used
'Complicitous' is markedly less frequent than 'complicit', which is the preferred form in modern usage. It carries a formal register and appears mostly in journalistic, academic, and legal writing. Like 'complicit', it typically takes the preposition 'in' (complicitous in something) and often implies passive participation or tacit approval as much as active involvement.
Easily confused with complicitous
'Complicit' is the standard, far more common adjective meaning involved in wrongdoing, while 'complicitous' is a rarer, longer variant of exactly the same meaning.