Home › Leadership › Conflict Resolution › reconcile

reconcile

REK-un-syle /ˈrekənsaɪl/

verbB2GRESATTOEFL

FormalPersonalFinancial

To restore friendly relations between parties, or to make two seemingly incompatible ideas or accounts consistent with each other.

Can apply to interpersonal relationships (making up after a fight) or cognitive/financial concepts (reconciling bank statements or conflicting ideas).

The story behind the word. From the Latin 're-' (again) and 'conciliare' (to bring together, make friendly). The root 'concilium' means a council or gathering, so to reconcile is to bring people back into the same circle or council.

Word relationships

harmonize: Harmonize emphasizes making things blend together pleasingly, while reconcile often implies overcoming a specific conflict or discrepancy.

estrange: Estrange means to alienate or destroy a friendly relationship, the exact opposite of reconcile.

Commonly confused with

conciliate: Conciliate means to placate or win over an angry person, whereas reconcile means to restore a mutual relationship or make facts agree.

Word family

reconciliation (noun): The restoration of friendly relations.
reconcilable (adjective): Capable of being made compatible.

Collocations

reconcile differences
reconcile accounts
reconcile with an enemy

Example sentences

"He could not reconcile his love for the wilderness with his desire for city life." Personal Reflection
"The accountant worked late to reconcile the company's bank statements with its internal ledgers." Financial Management

Memory hook

Reconcile: 'Re-' (again) + 'Council'. Bring them back to the council table to make peace. Bring back to the council.

When not to use

Avoid using when simply stopping a fight temporarily; reconcile implies a deep, harmonious restoration.

Fun facts

In accounting, 'reconciling' means making sure the bank's records and your personal records match perfectly—bringing two different stories into agreement.