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• reconciliation
  reconciliation

  noun

  the act of coming to an understanding and putting an end to hostility, as when former enemies agree to an amicable truce.
• Reconciliation
  Reconciliation

  noun

  RC Church a sacrament in which repentant sinners are absolved and gain reconciliation with God and the Church, on condition of confession of their sins to a priest and of performing a penance

reconciliation

American  

[rek-uhn-sil-ee-ey-shuhn] / ˌrɛk ənˌsɪl iˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

• reconciliations
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

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Reconciliation British  

/ ˌrɛkənˌsɪlɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. RC Church a sacrament in which repentant sinners are absolved and gain reconciliation with God and the Church, on condition of confession of their sins to a priest and of performing a penance

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Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreconciliation
  noun
• prereconciliation
  noun
• proreconciliation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reconciliations
  plural

Etymology

Origin 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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reconciliation Reconciliation reconciliations

The reconciliation talks between the government and opposition are being led by Figuera and interim president Rodriguez's brother, National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

In a joint statement released on 7 August, Lima and Mexico City said "historic ties of brotherhood, friendship and cooperation" prompted the reconciliation.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

A lot of the reconciliation would be up to the candidates themselves.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

Budget reconciliation is the process by which lawmakers can pass spending and tax legislation with a simple Senate majority.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

In my view, this wasn’t just a reconstruction campaign; it was part of the bigger vision for reconciliation in our city.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

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 ex-king sought to bridge gaps with his family and nation when his memoirs, titled "Reconciliation", were first published in French in France last month.

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

During the Truth and Reconciliation talks, he confessed the shortcomings of white South Africans who "hid behind their so-called spirituality while closing their eyes to the dark events of the apartheid years".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2024

Ryback is the cofounder and director of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation at The Hague.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2024

"Reconciliation," "Vigil on the Fields," "The City Dead-House," "Song of the Broad Axe," "Proud Music of the Storm," "The Mystic Trumpeter," "Seashore Memories," and the death-carols of the "Passage to India."

From The Last Words of Distinguished Men and Women (Real and Traditional) by Frederic Rowland Marvin

As Ralston notes, “Of such words are not reconciliations made.”

From Slate ● May 4, 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

Still, this is a season of apologies — even Uncle Jimmy is saying he’s sorry, through a closed door, to his teenage son — and reconciliations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 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

Related Words

• accord
• agreement
• compromise
• harmony
• rapprochement
• settlement