Complaisance
[kəm'pleɪzəns] or [kəm'plezns]
Definition
(noun.) a disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others.
Inputed by Jill--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Disposition to please or oblige; obliging compliance with the wishes of others; a deportment indicative of a desire to please; courtesy; civility.
Edited by Fergus
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Civility, courtesy, politeness, urbanity, suavity, condescension, complacence, affability, good-breeding.
Edited by Dorothy
Examples
- She could not respect his eye, but his love and his complaisance were unexceptionable. Jane Austen. Emma.
- I had paid dear for my complaisance. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Whether it was the heart which dictated this new system of complaisance and humility adopted by our Rebecca, is to be proved by her after-history. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- She must not be left to her own complaisance. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- He is, indeed; but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss Eliza, we cannot wonder at his complaisance--for who would object to such a partner? Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- He complied with her request, and answered her challenge in a large wine-cup; she then proceeded with her story, as if appeased by his complaisance. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- It was probably out of complaisance to this great company, that the government agreed to render this law perpetual. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Edited by Leah