negotiation

noun

ne·​go·​ti·​a·​tion ni-ˌgō-shē-ˈā-shən 

nonstandard

-sē- 

: the action or process of negotiating or being negotiated

—often used in plural

Negotiations between the two governments have failed to produce an agreement.

Synonyms

• compromise
• consensus

Examples of negotiation in a Sentence

We need a negotiation between the townspeople and mayor over the site of the new library.

She is skilled at negotiation.

The college president was against any negotiation with the students.

Recent Examples on the Web

Their conversations coincided with fraught union deliberations and concerns that negotiations and a reduction in bus services might ultimately alert union members to potential red flags with the agency's finances. —Vanessa Swales, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Experts say the collapse of the talks marks not only a significant blow for attempts to clean up a heavily climate-polluting industry, undermining decades of negotiations, but also represents yet another failure of climate diplomacy. —Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025

When Colorado traded away Rantanen it was widely panned as an odd choice, even amidst contract negotiation difficulties. —Sean Gentille, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Day after day, top congressional leaders hold dueling press conferences, but there are no serious negotiations and the House hasn't voted in weeks. —Deirdre Walsh, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English negociacion "dealing with people," borrowed from Latin negōtiātiōn-, negōtiātiō "business, trade," from negōtiārī "to do business, trade, deal" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at negotiate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing negotiation

• in negotiation
• open to negotiation
• under negotiation

Rhymes for negotiation

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