What does complaisance mean?
Complaisance refers to a temperament or manner characterized by a readiness to please, accommodate, and yield to the wishes of others. A person showing complaisance agrees readily, defers politely, and shapes their own preferences around those of the people they deal with. In modern usage the word is formal and somewhat rare, and its connotation is double-edged: it can praise genuine graciousness and courtesy, yet it often implies a degree of subservience — an obligingness so complete that it suggests weakness or insincerity, as when someone consents merely to avoid friction rather than from real conviction. Writers frequently deploy the term precisely to register this ambiguity, describing characters whose agreeable surface conceals a lack of independence. It should not be confused with the superficially similar 'complacency,' which denotes smug self-satisfaction rather than a wish to oblige. The word derives from French 'complaisance,' from 'complaire' ('to please'), ultimately rooted in Latin 'complacere.' Its adjective form is 'complaisant.'
nounA disposition to please or oblige others; polite willingness to comply with another's wishes, often to an excessive degree.
- The quality of being willing to please or oblige others; obliging, deferential behaviour.
- An instance or expression of such willingness, especially compliance carried out merely out of politeness rather than conviction.
"She agreed to every request with a complaisance that bordered on self-erasure."
"He endured his uncle's long stories with unfailing complaisance."
"Her agreement to chair the committee was mere complaisance, not genuine enthusiasm."
Rarely pluralized; the plural appears chiefly in older or very formal writing to denote repeated acts of obligingness.
"The letter recorded her many small complaisances toward her guests."
Complaisance sounds like complacency but couldn't be more different — one is smugness about yourself, the other eagerness to serve everyone else.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of complaisance
Complaisance entered English in the mid-seventeenth century, borrowed directly from French 'complaisance,' derived from the verb 'complaire,' meaning 'to please' or 'to humour.' The French word goes back to Late Latin 'complacere,' formed from 'com-' (an intensive element) and 'placere' ('to please'). The same Latin root gives English a family of pleasing-related words, including 'please,' 'placid,' 'placate,' and 'placebo.' The adjective form, 'complaisant,' followed the same path into English.
Related word forms
How complaisance is actually used
Complaisance is a formal, literary word, now relatively uncommon outside elevated prose. It carries a subtly ambivalent connotation: graciousness on the positive side, but servility or excessive deference when taken too far. The stress falls on the second syllable.
Easily confused with complaisance
Complacency means smug self-satisfaction about one's situation, while complaisance means an eager desire to please or accommodate others.