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complacency

2 ENTRIES FOUND:

com·pla·cen·cy

noun \kəm-ˈplā-sən(t)-sē\
plural com·pla·cen·cies

Definition of COMPLACENCY

1
: self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies
2
: an instance of usually unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction

Examples of COMPLACENCY

  1. The public was lulled into complacency.
  2. <a momentary complacency that was quickly dispelled by the shock of cold reality>
  3. He sees a dangerous sense of complacency about the U.S. stock market—where investors were emboldened after the 1998 downturn was followed by a resounding snapback. —Bernard Wysocki, Jr., Wall Street Journal, 3 Aug. 1999

Origin of COMPLACENCY

(see complacent)
First Known Use: 1650

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