English Explanatory Dictionary

comply

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To yield assent; to accord; to acquiesce, agree, consent; to adapt oneself, to conform.
  2. To accomplish, to fulfil.
  3. To be ceremoniously courteous; to make one's compliments.
  4. To enfold; to embrace.

Pronunciation

/kəmˈplaɪ/ en-us-comply.ogg en-au-comply.ogg

Word forms

comply complies complying complied

Etymology

From Italian complire, Catalan complir (“to complete, fulfil; to carry out”), Spanish cumplir (“to complete, fulfil”), (alternatively from Old French compli), from Latin complēre, from compleō (“to finish, complete; to fulfil”), from com- (prefix indicating completeness of an act) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, near; by, with”)) + pleō (“to fill; to fulfil”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)). The word is very close to the French verb complaire which means to satisfy or to please. The word is also cognate with Old French complir (“to accomplish, complete; to do”) (modern French accomplir (“to accomplish, achieve”)). Compare complete, compliment.

Synonyms

give way accede agree allow cave in come around come round comply concede grant soothe yield carry out consummate

Antonyms

violate

Related words

accomplish complete compliment

Derived words

compliable compliance compliancy compliant complier complyingly no comply recomply wilco
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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