complaisance
French, noun/kɔ̃.plɛ.zɑ̃s/
complaisance is spelled C-O-M-P-L-A-I-S-A-N-C-E (12 letters) and appears 3.1 times per million words in written French, the 15,592nd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Complaisance is a French feminine noun meaning “kindness” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Action de s’accommoder au sentiment, au goût de quelqu’un pour lui plaire”.
What does complaisance mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininekindness
- 2
femininecomplacency
- 3
feminineindulgence
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Action de s’accommoder au sentiment, au goût de quelqu’un pour lui plaire. 2. Indulgence excessive. 3. Plaisir, satisfaction, en parlant des personnes qu’on estime, qu’on aime, des choses dans lesquelles on se complaît.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of complaisance
- complaisances plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce complaisance?
- /kɔ̃.plɛ.zɑ̃s/
- /kɔ̃.ple.zɑ̃s/
- \kɔ̃.plɛ.zɑ̃s\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to complaisance
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is complaisance in French?
complaisance appears 3.1 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).