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Webster 1913 Edition
Complacency
{
, Com-pla′cence
,Com-pla′cen-cy
}Noun.
1.
Calm contentment; satisfaction; gratification.
The inward
complacence
we find in acting reasonably and virtuously. Atterbury.
Others proclaim the infirmities of a great man with satisfaction and
complacency
, if they discover none of the like in themselves. Addison.
2.
The cause of pleasure or joy.
“O thou, my sole complacence.” Milton.
3.
The manifestation of contentment or satisfaction; good nature; kindness; civility; affability.
Complacency
, and truth, and manly sweetness,Dwell ever on his tongue, and smooth his thoughts.
Addison.
With mean
complacence
ne’er betray your trust. Pope.
Definition 2024
complacency
complacency
English
Alternative forms
Noun
complacency (countable and uncountable, plural complacencies)
- A feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble.
- 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald, “chapter I”, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, OCLC 884653065:
- There was something pathetic in his concentration as if his complacency, more acute than of old, was not enough to him any more. When, almost immediately, the telephone rang inside and the butler left the porch Daisy seized upon the momentary interruption and leaned toward me.
- Addison
- Others proclaim the infirmities of a great man with satisfaction and complacency, if they discover none of the like in themselves.
-
- An instance of self-satisfaction.
Related terms
Translations
feeling
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