Complies

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəmˈplaɪz/

Definitions

1. Acts in accordance with demands, rules, or instructions
2. Adheres to requirements or follows specified guidelines
3. Obeys or conforms to orders, regulations, or conditions

Etymology: "Complies" is simply the third-person singular present of "comply," so the story is really the story of "comply." The verb descends from Latin "complēre," meaning to fill up, finish, or complete, built from "com-," which intensifies the sense of completeness, and "pleō," meaning to fill. Its original sense was therefore about finishing or fulfilling something, not about submitting to authority. That fulfilling sense carried through Italian, Spanish, and Catalan, where forms of the word still mean to complete or carry out. The English verb took on the idea of fulfilling an obligation or request, and from there it came to mean meeting the terms of a rule or order. Obeying a regulation is, in this sense, fully carrying it out. The word is closely related to "complete" and "compliment," which share the same Latin root, and it sits near the French "complaire," meaning to please or satisfy. Each of these words preserves a different strand of the original idea of filling something to its fullest.

Synonyms: obeys, follows, adheres, conforms, acquiesces

Antonyms: disobeys, defies, rejects, opposes, contradicts