self-complacent
/'selfkəm'pleisnt/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Excessively pleased with oneself or one's achievements: Feeling or showing uncritical satisfaction with one's own abilities, situation, or character, often to the point of smugness or unawareness of potential problems.
Usage
The word "self-complacent" describes a person who is overly content with themselves, their actions, or their current situation. This state of satisfaction is often seen as a fault because it can lead to a lack of effort, awareness, or desire for improvement. It is a formal and somewhat literary term.
Examples
- Adjective:
- After winning the award, he became self-complacent and stopped pushing himself to improve.
- Her self-complacent smile suggested she was unaware of the criticism from her peers.
- A self-complacent attitude can be dangerous in a rapidly changing industry.
Advanced Usage
- "to be self-complacent about something": to be smugly or uncritically satisfied with a particular aspect of oneself or one's life.
- The company's management was self-complacent about its market share and failed to notice the new competitor.
Variants and Related Words
- Complacent (adj): pleased, especially with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect. ("Complacent" is the more common and frequently used synonym for "self-complacent".)
- Self-satisfied (adj): feeling or showing satisfaction with oneself, especially when this is felt to be unjustified or excessive. (This is a very close synonym.)
- Smug (adj): having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements. (This synonym carries a stronger connotation of irritating superiority.)
Synonyms
- Self-satisfied: Contented with oneself to a fault.
- Smug: Excessively self-satisfied or proud.
- Conceited: Having an excessively favorable opinion of one's own abilities or appearance.
Antonyms
- Dissatisfied: Not content or happy with something.
- Humble: Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.
- Self-critical: Inclined to find fault with oneself.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Resting on one's laurels: To be so satisfied with what one has already achieved that one makes no further effort. This idiom describes the consequence of a self-complacent attitude.
- After the successful product launch, the team started resting on its laurels instead of planning the next phase.
Adjective
-
contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
-
he had become complacent after years of success
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his self-satisfied dignity
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