reconcile
Americanverb (used with object)
-
reconciles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reconciled,
past participle, past
-
reconciling
present participle
-
to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired.
He was reconciled to his fate.
-
to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable.
to reconcile hostile persons.
- Synonyms:
- placate, propitiate, pacify
-
to compose or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- anger
-
to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent.
to reconcile differing statements;
to reconcile accounts.
- Synonyms:
- harmonize
-
to reconsecrate (a desecrated church, cemetery, etc.).
-
to restore (an excommunicate or penitent) to communion in a church.
verb (used without object)
-
reconciles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reconciled,
past participle, past
-
reconciling
present participle
verb
-
to make (oneself or another) no longer opposed; cause to acquiesce in something unpleasant
she reconciled herself to poverty
-
to become friendly with (someone) after estrangement or to re-establish friendly relations between (two or more people)
-
to settle (a quarrel or difference)
-
to make (two apparently conflicting things) compatible or consistent with each other
-
to reconsecrate (a desecrated church, etc)
Usage
What does reconcile mean? Reconcile means to make amends, come to a truce, or settle a dispute. Reconcile can also mean to make things compatible or consistent with each other. This sense of the word is especially used when discussing two things that cannot be reconciled, such as two contrasting beliefs. Another sense of the word means to cause to accept a negative situation or become resigned to it, as in I am reconciled to my fate of never being able to afford my dream house. The noun form of reconcile is reconciliation, which refers to the process of reconciling. It’s also the name of a Catholic sacrament involving the confession of sin. Example: After years of not speaking to each other, the two finally sat down and reconciled.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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prereconcilementnoun
-
reconcilementnoun
-
reconcilernoun
-
reconciliationnoun
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prereconcileverb (used with object)
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quasi-reconciledadjective
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reconciliatoryadjective
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unreconciledadjective
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unreconcilingadjective
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reconcilinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reconcilesimple
-
reconcilessimple
-
have reconciledperfect
-
has reconciledperfect
-
am reconcilingprogressive
-
are reconcilingprogressive
-
is reconcilingprogressive
-
have been reconcilingperfect progressive
-
has been reconcilingperfect progressive
Past
-
reconciledsimple
-
had reconciledperfect
-
was reconcilingprogressive
-
were reconcilingprogressive
-
had been reconcilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reconcile
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English reconcilen, from Latin reconciliāre “to make good again, repair,” equivalent to re- re- + conciliāre “to bring together” ( see conciliate)
Explanation
Reach for the verb reconcile to make different things come together or resolve a matter. If you've ever had an argument with someone and then made up, you have reconciled. Reconcile is a verb that can mean "to become resigned" like if you're reconciled to getting the bottom bunk when you wanted the top. It also means to "bring into agreement and harmony." Words like it are pacify, harmonize, and accommodate — reconcile is definitely an agreeable word!
Vocabulary lists containing reconcile
Animal Farm
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Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Later, I was able to reconcile myself with the notion that Mexican music and the records that I listened to as a child are a big part of my identity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
That indicates analysts are treating the middle of the income statement as a plug to reconcile the top and bottom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“She has helped me quite a bit reconcile letting go of what I thought my career trajectory was going to be and embracing a new one,” Hodge said.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
He subsequently said he wanted to reconcile with his father.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
As Simitian stood at the podium, reading the document, trying to reconcile the company’s clear recognition of the risks with its opposition to law, he said: “I am at an absolute loss.”
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
There is nothing that reconciles those two decisions through any logic or law.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026
Until this hypothetical key to the mysteries puts a bow on string theory and reconciles quantum and classical mechanics, don’t bother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Driven to the edge of her mind with grief, Ann reconciles her misery with a vow of celibacy.
From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025
More like a short story, recounting the evening from Hart’s point of view as he reconciles with the fact that his former creative partner Richard Rodgers has created a hit with Oscar Hammerstein.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
One writes an article; the other replies to it; and the third reconciles the contradictions of the other two.
From Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov by Bunin, I. A.
Graham reconciled their relationship and backed his re-election bid.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
The two Founding Fathers and former presidents had been political rivals but famously reconciled in their later years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Dwayne Johnson’s performance in “The Smashing Machine,” for all the film’s flaws, cleverly reconciled the dissonance between the outward images of masculine power and internal feelings of self-loathing.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
He wrote back, and they reconciled in person when he came to see her in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
By contrast, my father seemed reconciled to the new quiet.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
My hope for this country: An ambitious strategy towards reconciling ourselves to the planet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
“When heirs cannot reach a unanimous decision, the executor’s role becomes pivotal. Executors are tasked with reconciling conflicts,” Hancock Whitney adds.
From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026
Now, the two chambers will work on fine-tuning and reconciling both bills into one proposal and sending it to President Trump’s desk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
El-Masry said the scene when they imagine the pair reconciling was the moment in the script he knew the movie was one for him.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
He slowed all his movements, as if focusing his eyes and reconciling what they saw took motion from his muscles.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
