complacent
/kəmˈpleɪsənt/
"complacent" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“complacent” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,622. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #22,622
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Uncritically satisfied with oneself or one's achievements; smug.
Corpus desk
Index EN-complacent · complacent · English
complacent · rank #22,622 · 16 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-MID #22,622
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 16 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH companionship
Nearest frequency peer: companionship (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “complacent”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- clipping
clipping
77,384 corpus weight
- clot
clot
77,383 corpus weight
- companionsh…
companionship
77,380 corpus weight
- complacent
complacent
77,379 corpus weight
- complicit
complicit
77,378 corpus weight
- confer
confer
77,376 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “complacent” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | complacent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /kəmˈpleɪsənt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #22,622 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “complacent” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 16 spelling variants around complacent (IPA /kəmˈpleɪsənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #22,622 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for complacent, with forms such as "ccomplacent", "cmoplacent", and "comlpacent". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "complaint", "compliment", "complement", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin complacēns (“very pleasing”), present participle of complacēre (“to please at the same time, be very pleasing”), from com- (“together”) + placēre (“to please”); see please and compare complaisant. The correct English form is complacent, spelled C-O-M-P-L-A-C-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1Uncritically satisfied with oneself or one's achievements; smug.
- 2Unduly unworried or apathetic with regard to a need or problem.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how complacent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He grew complacent as the years rolled on and the money rolled in.
England will feel confident but not complacent against Ukraine, and the shock exit of France to Switzerland shows no-one can be taken lightly.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin complacēns (“very pleasing”), present participle of complacēre (“to please at the same time, be very pleasing”), from com- (“together”) + placēre (“to please”); see please and compare complaisant.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ccomplacent
- cmoplacent
- comlpacent
- commplacent
- compalcent
- complaccent
- complacennt
- complacentt
- complacetn
- complacnet
- complaecnt
- complcaent
- compllacent
- compplacent
- copmlacent
- ocmplacent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of complacent - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "complacent", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "complacent". Here's where to go from here.
- "complacent" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "complaint". View pair
- 16 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #22,622 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.