self-satisfied
/'self'sætisfaid/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Feeling or showing excessive satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements, often to the point of being unaware of potential problems or faults: Describes a state of being pleased with oneself in a way that is uncritical and often irritating to others.
- Marked by smugness or complacency: Characterized by an unwarranted sense of superiority or contentment with the status quo.
Usage and Examples
- As an adjective:
- He gave a self-satisfied smile after winning the argument. (This shows he was overly pleased with his perceived victory.)
- Her self-satisfied attitude prevented her from seeing the flaws in her plan. (Her excessive contentment blinded her to problems.)
- The manager's self-satisfied tone during the meeting annoyed the team, who knew about the looming challenges.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "Self-satisfied" often carries a negative connotation, implying that the satisfaction is unjustified, naive, or offensive to others. It suggests a lack of humility or self-awareness.
- It can describe a temporary state (a self-satisfied grin) or a more permanent character trait (a self-satisfied individual).
- The word frequently appears in critiques of character, behavior, or attitudes.
Variants and Related Words
- Self-satisfaction (noun): The feeling of being self-satisfied.
- His self-satisfaction was evident in his refusal to consider feedback.
- Complacent (adjective): Similar to self-satisfied, but often with a stronger implication of unawareness of danger or decline due to feeling secure.
- Smug (adjective): Very similar to self-satisfied, emphasizing an offensive display of superiority or self-congratulation.
Synonyms
- Complacent: Satisfied, especially self-satisfied, to a fault.
- Smug: Having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements.
- Conceited: Excessively proud of oneself; vain.
- Self-congratulatory: Expressing or characterized by congratulating oneself.
Antonyms
- Humble: Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.
- Self-critical: Critical of oneself and one's actions.
- Dissatisfied: Not content or happy with a situation.
Idioms and Common Phrases
- Resting on one's laurels: Similar to being self-satisfied; to be so satisfied with past achievements that one makes no further effort.
- After the successful product launch, the team became self-satisfied and started resting on their laurels.
- Full of oneself: An informal idiom meaning conceited or self-satisfied.
- He became so self-satisfied after the promotion that he's completely full of himself.
Adjective
- contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
- he had become complacent after years of success
- his self-satisfied dignity
- marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
- a smug glow of self-congratulation