Complacency is a feeling of self-satisfaction or contentment, often coupled with a lack of awareness or concern about potential dangers or deficiencies. It implies an easy complacent attitude that can hinder alertness or improvement, especially in contexts requiring vigilance or progress. The term is commonly used to describe a mindset that resists change or challenge.
"Her complacency after years of success led to a surprising drop in performance."
"The company warned that market complacency could cost them their competitive edge."
"Despite the warning signs, his complacency kept him from taking necessary precautions."
"Efforts to reform stalled, and complacency kept the team from addressing critical issues."
Complacency comes from the Late Latin complacentia, from complacent- (Latin: appeased, satisfied), from Latin complacere (to please greatly, satisfy). The root is placere (to please). It entered English through French in the 16th century as complacance, evolving to complacency by the 17th century. Initially, it carried a more neutral sense of gentle ease, but by the 18th–19th centuries its nuance shifted toward a critical connotation of self-satisfaction without regard to potential risk or improvement. The word’s modern meaning—an uncritical, often self-satisfied contentment that discourages vigilance—developed as social and organizational contexts emphasized the risks of stagnation and the failure to monitor and adapt in dynamic environments.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Complacency" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Complacency"
-ncy sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce with stress on the second syllable: kəm-PLA-sən-see. IPA US/UK/AU: /kəmˈpleɪ.sən.si/. Start with a schwa in the first syllable, then a clear /ˈpleɪ/ as in 'play', then /sən/ and /si/. Tip: make the 'plai' sound crisp and keep the last two syllables light. Listen for audio examples to compare pronunc6iation.
Common errors include stressing the wrong syllable (e.g., com-PLA-cen-cy vs. com-ple-), substituting /eɪ/ with /e/ or /i/ in the /pleɪ/ part, and slurring the final -cy into -cee or -see. Correction: keep the /ˈpleɪ/ strong and crisp, maintain a short /ən/ before the final /si/, and ensure the final -cy ends with a light /i/ rather than a strong /iː/. Practice the exact /pleɪ/ cluster and slow the last syllables.
US: /kəmˈpleɪ.sən.si/ with rhoticized 'r' absent (no r in complacency). UK: /kəmˈpleɪ.sən.si/ similar, but vowel quality can be more clipped in some accents. AU: /kɒmˈpleɪ.sən.si/ may feature broader /ɒ/ or /ɔː/ depending on speaker, with non-rhotic tendencies and a slightly different vowel duration. Across all, the /ˈpleɪ/ bigram remains stressed; minor vowel shifts occur in the first and second syllables depending on accent.
The difficulty lies in the Long A diphthong /eɪ/ in /ˈpleɪ/ and the sequence of consonants /pl/ followed by /ə/ and /n/ before the final /si/. Beginners often misplace stress, reduce the syllable, or belt the final -cy as /sii/. Focus on the clear /ˈpleɪ/ and a short, unstressed /ən/ before /si/. IPA cues: /kəmˈpleɪ.sən.si/.
In complacency, the sequence ‘-cy’ is pronounced as /-si/ with a soft 's' and a long 'ee' sound is avoided. The 'ce' morphs into an /s/ sound in the final syllable, yielding /si/ rather than /k/. So the key is not to try a hard 'c' as in 'cycle', but to keep /si/ at the end, with a light final vowel.
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