complacent

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions

   We had become complacent after years of success.

2. 2
   adj

   Uncritically satisfied with oneself or one's achievements; smug.

   He grew complacent as the years rolled on and the money rolled in.

3. 3
   adj

   Unduly unworried or apathetic with regard to a need or problem.

   He tried to paint his audience as complacent, yelling that if they weren't mad as hell then they weren't paying enough attention.

Simplified etymology

Complacent, recorded from the mid-17th century, belongs to the family of Latin placere, “to please.” It originally described someone willing to go along with what pleased others.

Borrowed from Latin complacēns (“very pleasing”), present participle of complacēre (“to please at the same time, be very pleasing”), from com- (“together”) + placēre (“to please”); see please and compare complaisant.

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