fence-mending

noun

fence-mend·​ing ˈfen(t)s-ˌmen-diŋ 

: the rehabilitating of a deteriorated political relationship

Examples of fence-mending in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The president’s latest barbs came just days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to the Vatican for a fence-mending visit. — Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

Stedman lands every blow thanks to her patient accumulation of ordinary life, the shearing and mustering and fence-mending, the slow mapping of relationships that ensures each loss registers as something more than plot machinery. — Literary Hub, 5 Mar. 2026

In March 2023, the two countries promised to resume ties at a fence-mending summit in Tokyo. — Oren Liebermann, CNN, 18 July 2024

By then, Museveni had approved a fence-mending trip to Kigali by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a general in Uganda’s military, an overture that has eased bilateral tensions but done nothing to halt the burgeoning M23 encroachment. — Michela Wrong, Foreign Affairs, 13 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fence-mending

• apprehending
• comprehending
• condescending
• overspending
• recommending
• unoffending
• unpretending
• amending
• appending
• ascending
• attending
• befriending