reconcile
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
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
- prereconcile verb (used with object)
- prereconcilement noun
- quasi-reconciled adjective
- reconcilement noun
- reconciler noun
- reconciliation noun
- reconciliatory adjective
- reconcilingly adverb
- unreconciled adjective
- unreconciling adjective
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” ( conciliate )
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.
Last week, Brooklyn said in a statement he had no wish to reconcile with his family and accused his parents of attacking him and his wife in the press.
From BBC
In his explosive Instagram post on Monday, Brooklyn said he did not want to "reconcile" with his family, citing further wedding dress drama and an accusation that his parents put "brand Beckham" first.
From BBC
"I do not want to reconcile with my family," he wrote in a post to his 16.2 million Instagram followers.
From Barron's
"I do not want to reconcile with my family," Brooklyn Peltz-Beckham has said in a statement addressing his strained relationship with his parents.
From BBC
He was, however, understood to have privately reconciled with his children in the last years of his life.
From MarketWatch
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.
