TOEIC Link Part 5: complaisant versus complacent

Complaisant and complacent are separated by a single vowel — ai versus a — and both describe an easygoing attitude, so they are simple to swap. Complaisant (adjective) means willing to please, agreeable, eager to accommodate others. Complacent (adjective) means smugly self-satisfied, uncritically pleased with oneself, and no longer striving. One points outward toward other people; the other points inward toward oneself. Part 5 exploits that one-vowel gap to check whether you know which word means which kind of contentment. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.

The core rule: pleasing others versus pleased with yourself

• complaisant (adjective) = eager to please, accommodating, obliging. The complaisant host rearranged the whole schedule to suit his guests. / A complaisant manager who agrees to every request can lose the team's respect. It describes someone directing their agreeableness outward, bending to satisfy others.
• complacent (adjective) = smugly self-satisfied, uncritically content, off guard. After three record quarters, the board grew complacent and stopped investing. / Do not become complacent just because the audit passed last year. It describes someone turned inward, so pleased with themselves that they stop trying.

The two point in opposite directions. Complaisant is about accommodating other people; complacent is about being satisfied with yourself. If the sentence is about pleasing or yielding to others, it is complaisant; if it is about smug self-satisfaction or dropping one's guard, it is complacent.

Why Part 5 likes this pair

The pair rewards attention to spelling and to meaning at once, and both adjectives carry the neutral-to-formal register that suits Part 5 business contexts.

Success in the early years made the company __, and it ignored the smaller rivals that eventually overtook it.

The clue ignored the smaller rivals signals smug self-satisfaction, so the answer is complacent.

Always __ toward important clients, the account manager rarely pushed back even when a request was unreasonable.

The clue rarely pushed back signals eagerness to accommodate others, so the answer is complaisant.

Spotting the clue

Read the direction of the attitude around the blank:

• Does the context describe someone bending to please or accommodate other people? → choose complaisant (a complaisant assistant, too complaisant to refuse).
• Does the context describe someone smugly satisfied with themselves or letting their guard down? → choose complacent (grew complacent, dangerously complacent about security).

A quick test: if you can substitute eager to please, it is complaisant; if you can substitute self-satisfied or smug, it is complacent. The mnemonic: complaisant aims to please (both have the ai sound of "aim to please"); complacent is content with the place it is already in. For more pairs where a single letter decides the answer, see the sound-alike verb pairs study guide.

Quick self-check

1. The vendor was so __ that it agreed to every last-minute change without complaint. (complaisant — eager to please)
2. A market leader that becomes __ about its lead often stops innovating. (complacent — smugly satisfied)
3. Regulators warned banks not to grow __ during the long stretch of low defaults. (complacent — off guard)

Takeaway

If the sentence points to pleasing or accommodating other people, you need complaisant with the extra i. If it points to smug self-satisfaction or a dropped guard, you need complacent. Decide whether the contentment is aimed outward at others or inward at oneself, and the single-vowel difference stops being a trap. To see how this pair fits the wider set of Part 5 sound-alikes, return to the commonly confused word pairs master index.