#23 complacent ~ concise

Question 1

complacent

/kəmˈpleɪsənt/

Answer 1

adj. self-satisfied; overly pleased with oneself; contented to a fault
- The complacent camper paid no attention to the poison ivy around his campsite, and ended up going to the hospital.
- The football team won so many games that it became complacent, and the worst team in the league won the game.
To fall into complacency is to become comfortably uncaring about the world around you.
- The president of the student council was appalled by the complacency of his classmates; not one of the seniors seemed to care about the theme.

Question 2

complaisant

/kəmˈpleɪsənt, -zənt, ˈkɒmpləˌzænt/

Answer 2

adj. eager to please

Question 3

complement

/n. ˈkɒmpləmənt; v. ˈkɒmpləˌmɛnt/

Answer 3

v. to complete or fill up; to be the perfect counterpart
- The flower arrangement complemented the table decorations.
Complement can also be a noun.
- Fish-flavored ice cream was a prefect complement to the seafood dinner.

Question 4

complicity

/kəmˈplɪsɪti/

Answer 4

n. participation in wrongdoing; the act of being an accomplice
- There was complicity between the bank robber and the dishonest teller. The teller neglected to turn on the alarm, and the robber rewarded him by sharing the loot.
- Complicity among the students made it impossible to find out which of them had pulled the fire alarm.

Question 5

comprehensive

/ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnsɪv/

Answer 5

adj. covering or including everything
- The insurance policy was comprehensive; it covered all possible losses.
- Maria’s knowledge of English is comprehensive; she even understands what comprehensive means.
A comprehensive examination is one that covers everything in the course or in a particular field of knowledge.

Question 6

comprise

/kəmˈpraɪz/

Answer 6

v. to consist of
- A football team comprises eleven players on offense and eleven players on defense.
- A company comprises employees.

Question 7

conciliatory

/kənˈsɪliəˌtɔri, -ˌtoʊri/

Answer 7

adj. making peace; attempting to resolve a dispute through good will
To be conciliatory is to kiss and make up.
- Come on - be conciliatory!
- The formerly warring countries were conciliatory at the treaty conference.
- After dinner at the all-you-can-eat pancake house, the divorced couple began to feel conciliatory, so they flew to Las Vegas and were remarried.

Question 8

reconcile

/ˈrɛkənˌsaɪl/

Answer 8

v. to bring two things into agreement
- When peace has been made, we say that the warring parties have come to a reconciliation.
- The accountant managed to reconcile the company books with the cash on hand only with great creativity.

Question 9

concise

/kənˈsaɪs/

Answer 9

adj. brief and to the point; succinct
- The scientist’s explanation was concise; it was brief and it helped us understand the difficult concept.
To be concise is to say much with few words. A concise speaker is one who speaks concisely or with concision.