as in amenability
a desire or disposition to please
the complaisance of his girlfriend is such that she meekly goes along with everything he says
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 complaisance
Yet electing to be private doesn’t amount to complaisance or complicity.
—
Lesley M.m. Blume, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2022
Sammy’s awareness of his mother’s infidelity, his father’s complaisance, and how both were relieved by his creative Boy Scout merit-badge projects and fantasies requires a separate article.
—Armond White, National Review, 16 Nov. 2022
What is lost is the look of complaisance that defines young founders looking for capital.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 2 Mar. 2021
There are more emphatic reasons for the market’s complaisance.
—Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2016
Lesley M.m. Blume, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2022
Sammy’s awareness of his mother’s infidelity, his father’s complaisance, and how both were relieved by his creative Boy Scout merit-badge projects and fantasies requires a separate article.
—Armond White, National Review, 16 Nov. 2022
What is lost is the look of complaisance that defines young founders looking for capital.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 2 Mar. 2021
There are more emphatic reasons for the market’s complaisance.
—Jeff Sommer, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complaisance
Noun
-
Amsterdam’s cycling union, the Fietsersbond, successfully pushed for these regulations while expanding infrastructure, proving safety and bike-friendliness are not a zero-sum game.—
Sameer Butt,
New York Daily News,
4 Jan. 2026
-
The concierge team, lauded for their friendliness and attention to detail, orchestrates bespoke experiences with finesse.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But despite the pleasantness, there are still some areas where the graphics are lacking.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
14 Nov. 2025
-
The farmer’s tendency to pursue high yields obscured the delicate pleasantness this grape gives when handled carefully.—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There is a politician-esque amiability to Swift’s time with Colbert, a desperation to please all possible parties while offering up nothing new.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
11 Dec. 2025
-
No special effects were required to trigger Curry's stark drift from amiability to horrifying emptiness.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
-
In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Complaisance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complaisance. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share