the act of coming to an understanding and putting an end to hostility, as when former enemies agree to an amicable truce.
Thirty years later, the rebel son is seeking reconciliation with his mother and sister.
Reconciliation between the government and the Indigenous community will take more than pleasant words.
the state of being resigned to something undesirable, or the process of achieving this state; acceptance.
Telling them about her son as he was before the accident gave her a sense of peace and reconciliation with her loss.
the act or process of making consistent or compatible.
There is a tension between justice and mercy, and their reconciliation is not easy or obvious.
the act or process of verifying one account or set of figures with another to ensure or test for accuracy.
Reconciliation of the sum of money received and the number of tickets sold revealed a few reporting errors.
U.S. Government. a Congressional procedure under which a simple majority of votes in the Senate is enough to pass legislation relating to the federal budget: used in order to avoid a potential filibuster.
What does reconciliation mean? Reconciliation is the process of two people or groups in a conflict agreeing to make amends or come to a truce. Reconciliation is also the name of a Catholic sacrament involving the confession of sin. Less commonly, reconciliation refers to when someone accepts an undesirable situation, or to the process of making things compatible. Example: After years of conflict, the two parties have agreed to meet with the goal of reconciliation.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English reconsiliacion, from Latin reconciliātiōn-, stem of reconciliātiō “renewal, restoration,” from reconciliāt(us) “restored, reunited” (past participle of reconciliāre “to repair, restore, reunite”; see reconcile) + -iō -ion
Reconciliation is the act of getting two things to be compatible with one another. You might have a reconciliation with a former enemy, or your mom might call for a reconciliation between your spending habits and your diminishing bank account. If you want to do something on Friday night, but your friend is trying to save money, going to a free art gallery opening would be a reconciliation of both your desires. Reconciliation can also mean the reestablishment of civil relations after a conflict. If you and your friend got into an argument over what to do Friday night, you’d need to have a reconciliation before you go hang out.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a bid to unite the right before the convention, Flavio this week posted a video apologizing to Michelle, who quickly accepted the gesture of reconciliation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
This reconciliation effort fills that hole in our budget, allowing our armed forces to continue operating at the highest levels and deter our adversaries in the Middle East and around the globe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
There are plenty, including former captain Gary Neville, who feel Rashford's time at Old Trafford is over and there should be no reconciliation.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Before the unfortunate coda to their story, Chapman and her brother seemed to be the perfect example of reconciliation.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
He was a gentle child, a natural peacemaker and he tried to bring about some sort of reconciliation between me and his mother.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In 1996, he sharply criticized the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which cut federal benefits for many legal immigrants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
The Republican Study Committee—which represents a huge cross-section of the caucus— in January released a Reconciliation 2.0 roadmap that included provisions focused on reducing housing, healthcare and energy costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
The group -- the Movement for Peace, Reconciliation and Development -- was launched in southern Chad in 2003.
From Barron's ● Jan. 14, 2026
Timothy Ryback is the director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in The Hague.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2025
There it was that she heard of the Duke's Reconciliation with the Duchess, upon the Duke's return from Berlin.
As Ralston notes, “Of such words are not reconciliations made.”
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
The county conducted an audit of Harm Reduction-SD in April 2023 that revealed “significant financial control weaknesses including insufficient bank reconciliations and a deficient general ledger,” prosecutors allege.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
His voice - bruised, buttery and intimate - has been an inescapable undercurrent of Bollywood, narrating heartbreaks, longings and reconciliations for millions for more than a decade.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
Each cycle of filings requires extensive reconciliations and disclosures that absorb resources better devoted to productive investment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025
We might describe these three reconciliations as attempts to explain nature’s past, present, and future through the lens of the gene.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
