Definition of complacencenext
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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of complacence Stuck here on the planet’s surface, our mundane perspective is rarely challenged, so seeing both our world and its lone natural satellite side by side is a rare gift, a jolt to our cosmic complacence. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2025 This flagrant exclusion of such a win-win prospect largely stems from the aversion many environmental activists have of any potential solution that might lead to complacence on aggregate consumption. — Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025 His Finnish homeland, which shares an 800-mile border with Russia, has not been afforded the luxury of complacence. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2025 The United States veered too far in the direction of complacence after the Cold War, discounting China and Russia’s competitive potential. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 July 2022 But the rise and fall of Japan's chipmakers suggests that leaders of the industry today have no room for complacence. — Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 22 June 2021 But surely there must be a place for civil disobedience and protest that is sufficiently disruptive to rouse people from complacence. — Yochai Benkler, Foreign Affairs, 4 Apr. 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complacence
Noun
  • Rather than through a cold call or email, the scammers lure them through websites offering self-publishing or vanity publishing.
    — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026
  • And the angelic youth Dorian Gray’s deadly descent into vanity and vice—ignited by a hubristic obsession with his own image—eerily foreshadows the grim trajectory of Wilde’s later years.
    — Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Their leaders appeared to disregard reports that Iranian decision-makers had called on them, in July 2026, to close the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb to maritime traffic.
    — Laurent Bonnefoy, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Any choice for or against the work, including the choice of no-choice—of indifference or disregard—confronts the question of authenticity.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • For Weinberg, learning from those failures requires putting ego aside and taking an honest look at what went wrong—and what worked.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • His ego is in exact inverse proportion to Ilya’s, which is part of what makes Garfield and Borisov play so beautifully off each other.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Then again, the creature’s indifference suggests there may be no deeper meaning available.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The reason is not indifference; no brand team believes the pharmacy is unimportant.
    — Harshit Jain, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Some will say past results don’t matter, but many of TCU’s veterans are used to beating Baylor and take pride it in.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Behind the reputation that surrounded them, there was humor, loyalty, and pride.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The lack of protest songs in today’s music industry has inspired many think pieces exploring what happened and whether it can be attributed to factors like a more general complacency among artists or fear from their record labels.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
  • As a result, #NiUnaMenos, a feminist group that originated in Argentina and whose aim is to combat complacency in societies that experience femicides, has taken root in Mexico.
    — Daniel Peña, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Ilya is looking for work as an assistant, and the professor, with his dandyish nerd arrogance, tells him to look at a paper he’s written and come back in a few days.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
  • This standalone novel looks at the cult of celebrity, the bond among parents and children, entitlement and arrogance, all wrapped into a tightly wound plot that’s an evocative historical steeped in the Great Depression.
    — Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 1 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Complacence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complacence. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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