complaisant
French, adjective/kɔ̃.plɛ.zɑ̃/
complaisant is spelled C-O-M-P-L-A-I-S-A-N-T (11 letters) and appears about once in every 1 million words in written French, the 35,862nd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Complaisant is a French adjective meaning “complaisant, obliging, eager to please” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a present participle of complaire. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Qui a de la complaisance pour les autres”.
What does complaisant mean in English?
adjective
- 1
complaisant, obliging, eager to please
verb
- 1
present participle of complaire
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui a de la complaisance pour les autres. 2. Qui a ou qui dénote de la complaisance pour soi-même. 3. Qui favorise les galanteries d’un autre. 4. Qui favorise la classe dirigeante.
noun: 1. Personne qui est fort assidue auprès d’une autre et qui s’attache à lui plaire dans la vue d'un intérêt.
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 complaisant
- complaisante feminine
- complaisants masculine plural
- complaisantes feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce complaisant?
- /kɔ̃.plɛ.zɑ̃/
- /kɔ̃.ple.zɑ̃/
- \kɔ̃.plɛ.zɑ̃\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to complaisant
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is complaisant in French?
complaisant appears about once in every 1 million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).