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

The foot-dragging led Parker and Stone to flex their power, including by threatening legal action against Shell and RedBird Capital over allegedly manipulating negotiations with rivals to lower the price for Paramount. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025

In a parallel process, the military achievements of Israel and the United States must be leveraged to launch comprehensive negotiations with Iran to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons. —Ami Ayalon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Aug. 2025

During the last round of labor negotiations with the NFLPA in 2020, the league pushed new language that more clearly delineated what gets shared in the event of a sale like this. —Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Thomas Posey of Posey Associates helps leaders build high-performance partnerships through strategic negotiation and scenario work. —Thomas Posey, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 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