reconciliation

noun

rec·​on·​cil·​i·​a·​tion ˌre-kən-ˌsi-lē-ˈā-shən 

1

: the action of reconciling : the state of being reconciled

2

: the Roman Catholic sacrament of penance

3

US government : a legislative process that enables expedited passage of a bill relating to certain matters in the federal budget by a simple majority of votes

used reconciliation to repeal the bill passed during the prior session of Congress

Aides to senior House Republicans said Thursday that committee chairmen were meeting now to decide whether a budget plan … will include parliamentary language, known as reconciliation instructions, that would allow much of a Republican health care plan to pass the filibuster-prone Senate with a simple majority.

—Jonathan Weisman

reconciliatory

ˌre-kən-ˈsil-yə-ˌtȯr-ē 

-ˈsi-lē-ə-

adjective

Examples of reconciliation in a Sentence

Signing the trade agreement was praised as an act of reconciliation between the two countries.

He contacted us in hopes of a reconciliation.

a reconciliation of opposing views

Recent Examples on the Web

Later messages referenced multiple breakups and reconciliation. — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 25 July 2026

Republicans also separately advanced a $95 billion budget blueprint that would set them up for a reconciliation bill. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 23 July 2026

Some Senate Republicans, including Thune, have suggested the party could try to pass portions of the measure in a broader party-line reconciliation package recently advanced by the House. — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 23 July 2026

Member and resident records flow across multiple vendors, and small reconciliation gaps build up unnoticed over years. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English reconsiliacioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin reconciliation-, reconciliatio, from reconciliare

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for reconciliation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration