reconciliation

[ rek-uhn-sil-ee-ey-shuhn ]

noun

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.

Reconciliation

/ 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

Other Words From

• non·rec·on·cil·i·a·tion noun
• pre·rec·on·cil·i·a·tion noun
• pro·rec·on·cil·i·a·tion adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of reconciliation¹

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”; reconcile ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

In the era of "liberal peace", an agreement to end a civil war was the drafting of a democratic constitution, along with measures for disarming and demobilising rival armies, transitional justice and reconciliation, and aid-funded programmes to deliver a peace dividend for the afflicted populace.

From BBC

In the years that have passed, there have been other firsts and many other gestures in a bid to promote reconciliation and good relations.

From BBC

In the years that have passed, there have been other firsts and many other gestures in a bid to promote reconciliation and good relations.

From BBC

“We’ll have, just like the communists do, but we do it as patriots, truth and reconciliation commissions. It's all over television for years, and we destroy the Democratic Party,” Jones fantasized.

From Salon

In the years that have passed, there have been other firsts and many other gestures in a bid to promote reconciliation and good relations.

From BBC

Related Words

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