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

The continent had drifted so far from its official coordinates by 2017 that the government moved the entire nation almost 6 feet on paper to reconcile maps with reality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“The movie was about a family going through a crisis, about this kid trying to find trying to find his community and trying to reconcile with his family,” Kirk said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Beneath the flags, opposition lawmaker Patricia Stephenson told AFP the government's position was increasingly difficult to reconcile.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 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

“Do you think perhaps those things would be more difficult to reconcile if you were not part of them yourself? Perhaps to the point of driving one mad? The mind is a sensitive thing.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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

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

Meanwhile, back in Cousins, Massachusetts, Jeremiah ends up with Denise and reconciles with his dad.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025

Intercess′or, one who goes between: one who reconciles two enemies: one who pleads for another: a bishop who acts during a vacancy in a see.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

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

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

The star has previously said that "for a really long time" she had perceived Christopher as one of her "biggest enemies" - but they reconciled before his death.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

There is no such provision in the corresponding Senate bill, which will have to be reconciled with the House bill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 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

At first he thought it might be his sadness over the condidon of his room which kept him from eadng, but he very soon became reconciled to the alteradons in his room.

From "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka

My hope for this country: An ambitious strategy towards reconciling ourselves to the planet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

The challenge of reconciling the dilemma was even more formidable than the Protestant ideal of literacy that expected converts to read the Bible and sing out of the Psalter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 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

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

From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026

The scientific problem that engrossed Fisher also involved reconciling biology’s “mind” with its “eye.”

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