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

But those reports indicated there was resistance from William, despite his father’s wishes for a reconciliation. —Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 10 May 2026

There can be no reconciliation without justice. —Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026

For audiences, the echo chamber that develops in the villas can seem debilitating to a possible reconciliation, but Walberg says that there are invariably a few authentic souls whose support is sincere rather than a tactic to get them into mischief. —Todd Gilchrist, IndieWire, 7 May 2026

Republicans plan to pass the new bill including the ballroom money on party-line votes in both houses of Congress using the reconciliation process that skirts the Senate filibuster. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 6 May 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