1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

compliance

noun

kəm-ˈplī-ən(t)s How to pronounce compliance (audio)
Definition of compliancenext
1
as in obedience
a readiness or willingness to yield to the wishes of others a strong-willed pop star who is not known for her compliance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in submission
a bending to the authority or control of another an administrator who demands prompt and unquestioning compliance from subordinates

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in adherence
the following of a custom, rule, or law compliance with the statute was far from universal

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 compliance The delay would also give manufacturers time to come into compliance and redesign their labels, the representative said. — Naisha Roy, ProPublica, 18 Sep. 2026 New York City’s public school system is paying unionized principals and assistant principals to bring more classrooms into compliance with the class size law. — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026 Financial And Compliance Expertise Examine each person’s finance, compliance and audit background. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026 The provider typically handles matters such as the local employment contract, benefits, and compliance requirements, while the hiring company continues to oversee the employee’s day-to-day work. — Ethan Stone, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for compliance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compliance
  1. obedience
  2. submission
  3. adherence
  4. compliancy
  5. conformity
  6. conformance
  7. acquiescence
  8. observation
Noun
  • The family sent both Pips and Ruth to obedience training with a family friend and professional dog trainer, where Pips began learning sign commands.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Timidity dissolves into might, selfishness gives place to broad-reaching love, incompetence is replaced with obedience to God’s perfect direction.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of obedience
Noun
  • South Korea selected Possible Love as its submission for the best international feature Oscar, and Netflix is positioning the film as one of its major awards contenders of the season.
    — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The film stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong, and is South Korea’s submission for the best international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of submission
Noun
  • Overall, the Bush administration’s misguided foray reinforced in the minds of many in the Middle East a distrust of America’s allegiances, commitments, and adherence to the protocols of the Geneva Conventions, a distrust that persists to this day.
    — David Friend, Vanity Fair, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Catering to the Volume, Not the Power User From a purely capitalistic standpoint, power users who demand high literacy, strict prompt adherence, and investigative rigor represent a tiny fraction of Google's user base.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of adherence
Noun
  • Paired with the news of Mahomes’ restructure, the Chiefs have opened up a simple path to compliancy.
    — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 18 Feb. 2026
  • While the legislation aims to address gaps in compliancy with federal transparency rules, the Wisconsin Hospital Association argues it's not needed as the state ranks high in transparency adherence.
    — Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 11 June 2025
Definition of compliancy
Noun
  • The Orwellian parallels and Cold War overtones are strong on this particular planet, where a hive-mind entity enforces conformity through mass surveillance and zero-tolerance punishments.
    — Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026
  • That sense of propriety was partly imposed upon him by his father, who, in covering up John’s misdeed, placed an albatross around his son’s neck, demanding his conformity to a narrow sort of principle.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of conformity
Noun
  • Explain how the agent takes in tasks and context and how the output is measured against definable tolerances (targets, conformances and limits).
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • That said, the final plat is in substantial conformance with the previous proposals, Latinovic said.
    — Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 5 May 2026
Definition of conformance
Noun
  • But many assumptions that Stratos’ investors or Utah politicians might have had about Box Elder County – about either the acquiescence of its people or the barrenness of its landscape – have been proved wrong over the past few months.
    — Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Oil has long funded the Gulf’s expensive social contract, in which governments provide citizens with cushy jobs and high-quality services in return for political acquiescence.
    — Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of acquiescence
Noun
  • Two aircraft can combine their observations instead of treating each sensor picture separately.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
  • An investor can better de-risk their investment by relying on local observations.
    — Justin Donald, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of observation

Browse Nearby Words

complexness
compliance
compliances
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Compliance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compliance. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All