Synonyms

reconcile

American

[rek-uhn-sahyl] / ˈrɛk ənˌsaɪl /

verb (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)

to become reconciled.

reconcile British

/ ˈrɛkənˌsaɪl, -trɪ, ˌrɛkənˌsɪlɪˈeɪʃən, ˌrɛkənˈsɪlɪətərɪ /

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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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!

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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:

reconcile reconciles reconciled reconciling

Pricing disputes have delayed or terminated many secondary private-credit transactions in recent months because some firms are unable to reconcile disparate numbers, according to executives overseeing similar secondary deals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

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

"The operating limits of the emission control systems strictly reconcile emissions reduction with driver safety," said the carmaker.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Sitting judges arguably have the best informed perspective on this Supreme Court: They must apply its jurisprudence, reconcile its contradictions, and confront the real-world effects of its rulings.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

The scholarship boy does not straddle, cannot reconcile, the two great opposing cultures of his life.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Remembering this time they shared, Travolta works through the memories of his mother, and reconciles the good with the not-so-great.

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026

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

Another early highlight, Reliquia, chops and splices a chamber quartet into unrecognisable electronic patterns, as Rosalía reconciles herself to the idea that she loves too hard, and locates the beauty in that vulnerability.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2025

The chastisement is not a legitimate satisfaction, an expiation which, comprehended by the culprit, reconciles him in his own eyes with the order that he has violated.

From Lectures on the true, the beautiful and the good by Victor Cousin

Graham reconciled their relationship and backed his re-election bid.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

My father and I eventually reconciled at his house a few years after I signed with the Braves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 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

In the remaining eighteen months that Tycho was to live, the two quarreled and were reconciled repeatedly.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

“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

The exercises are another step toward reconciling the one-time adversaries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

The film portrays the difficulty Lilia has in reconciling her sexual orientation with her cultural and familial roots.

From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026

Already, Safdie is back on Marty, leaving Kay somewhere else entirely, reconciling her broken dreams and what may very well be the end of her professional career.

From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2025

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