complaisant

complaisant

eager to please; deferential; obliging; agreeable or gracious: He is a complaisant host.

Not to be confused with:

complacent – self-satisfied; smug; unbothered: He is too complacent to make changes.

compliant – inclined to act in accord with the rules; acquiescent: She has a compliant disposition.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

com·plai·sant

 (kəm-plā′sənt, -zənt)

adj.

Exhibiting a desire or willingness to please; cheerfully obliging.

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[French, from Old French, present participle of complaire, to please, from Latin complacēre; see complacent.]

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com·plai′sant·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

complaisant

(kəmˈpleɪzənt)

adj

showing a desire to comply or oblige; polite

[C17: from French complaire, from Latin complacēre to please greatly; compare complacent]

comˈplaisantly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•plai•sant

(kəmˈpleɪ sənt, -zənt, ˈkɒm pləˌzænt)

adj.

inclined to please; obliging; agreeable or gracious; compliant.

[1640–50; < French, present participle of complaire < Latin complacēre]

com•plai′sant•ly, adv.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

complaisant - showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others; "to close one's eyes like a complaisant husband whose wife has taken a lover"; "the obliging waiter was in no hurry for us to leave" obliging accommodating, accommodative - helpful in bringing about a harmonious adaptation; "the warden was always accommodating in allowing visitors in"; "made a special effort to be accommodating"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

complaisant

adjective

Ready to do favors for another:

accommodating, agreeable, indulgent, obliging.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

affable

accondiscendentecompiacentecondiscendentedeferente

aanpassendrespectvoltegemoetkomendvoldoend

complaisant

[kəmˈpleɪzənt] ADJ (gen) → servicial, cortés; [wife, husband] → consentido, sumiso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

complaisant

[kəmˈpleɪz^ənt] (old-fashioned) adj → complaisant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

complaisant

adj, complaisantly

adv → gefällig, entgegenkommend; smile → wohlwollend

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007