self-complacent

Definition of self-complacentnext

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-complacent
Adjective
  • But Grande’s conceited blonde bubblehead gains in stature here as Glinda assumes statesmanlike responsibility to spread goodness in Oz, while experiencing crushing romantic disappointment that humbles her and deflates her vanity.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
  • The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.
    Dan Heching, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • This version of Ryan was arrogant, unable to conceal pride in his accomplishment.
    Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
  • So long as that situation continues, the 43-year-old’s allegedly arrogant and stand-offish treatment of his players will not worry the club hierarchy too much.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Preserving artifacts and retelling the stories of shipwrecks keeps the memories of the victims alive, Horn said, and in learning the stories people across Michigan may continue to memorialize their lives by never growing complacent on the waters of the Great Lakes.
    Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 4 Nov. 2025
  • But though Pope had the final (non-)hand in the goal, it was made possible by a complacent Newcastle performance in which their midfield failed to assert control in a match which had been handed to them.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The day after Politico reported that Scott Bessent had threatened to punch a bumptious housing official in the face, the secretary of the Treasury addressed Republican luminaries gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Laffer curve under the big chandelier in his department’s Cash Room.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Like the opera, the film blends these disparate moods and tones at a whirlwind tempo: slapstick comedy and poignant melodrama, graceful lyricism and bumptious braggadocio, witty satire and bitter tragedy.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
Adjective
  • Other performances, like Lowden’s egotistical failson and Fearn’s twitchy brother, come off too broadly even for Brooks’s stylized tone.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025
  • The man started saying that Sliwa was being egotistical.
    Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • As a sleazy, lecherous publicist pinned in a Manhattan phone booth by a faceless sniper on the other end of the line, Farrell goes from smug condescension to breathless victimhood pretty effortlessly.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
  • But Minnesota, with or without its unapologetically smug superstar, has been the Nuggets’ kryptonite for more than a year.
    Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • All but the most vainglorious architects imagine that their buildings will change in some small way after completion.
    Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The real real thing tended to be rather different: clumsy, ad hoc, vainglorious—and secret.
    Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Adjective
  • Jeffrey Tambor Known for playing the pompous, self-important mayor of Whoville, Jeffery Tambor also has an esteemed career across television and film.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Among the latter is ravenous beaver Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster, hilarious), who turns out to be a key ally, and pompous new mayor Brian Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), a stallion who used to be an actor.
    Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Self-complacent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-complacent. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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