complacent

/kəm'pleisnt/

Thân thiện

He grew complacent after his promotion and stopped trying to improve.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Self-satisfied and uncritical: Feeling or showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself, one's achievements, or a situation, often while being unaware of potential dangers or deficiencies.
   • Contented to a fault: Pleased, especially with oneself or one's situation, to the point of ignoring potential problems or risks.

Usage

The adjective "complacent" describes a state of being overly pleased with oneself or one's circumstances, leading to a lack of awareness, concern, or desire for improvement. It often carries a negative connotation, implying a dangerous or foolish satisfaction.

Examples

• General Use:
  • The team became complacent after their early lead and ended up losing the game.
  • We cannot afford to be complacent about cybersecurity threats.
• Describing a Person or Attitude:
  • His complacent smile showed he thought the job was already done.
  • She warned against a complacent attitude towards the ongoing economic challenges.

Advanced Usage

• "Complacent about": This is the most common prepositional phrase used with "complacent," indicating what the satisfaction is regarding.
  • The government was accused of being complacent about rising inflation.
• "Complacent in": Sometimes used to indicate the sphere or situation in which one is complacent.
  • He grew complacent in his role and stopped seeking new challenges.

Variants and Related Words

• Complacency (noun): A feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.
  • Their early success led to a dangerous sense of complacency.
• Complacently (adverb): In a self-satisfied or uncritically pleased manner.
  • He nodded complacently, sure of his own correctness.

Synonyms

• Smug: Having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.
• Self-satisfied: Pleased with oneself, especially in an uncritical way.
• Self-congratulatory: Expressing undue congratulations to oneself.
• Resting on one's laurels: Relying on one's past successes instead of working for further achievement. (Idiomatic phrase)

Antonyms

• Dissatisfied: Not content or happy with something.
• Ambitious: Having a strong desire for success or achievement.
• Vigilant: Keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.

Idioms and Common Phrases

• Breed complacency: To cause a situation where people become complacent.
  • Long periods of stability can breed complacency in an organization.
• Complacent to the core: Extremely and fundamentally complacent.
  • The management was complacent to the core, ignoring all warning signs.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
   • he had become complacent after years of success
   • his self-satisfied dignity

Từ đồng nghĩa

• self-satisfied
• self-complacent