Reconcile

To restore friendly relations between people or groups; to settle differences and bring something into harmony or agreement, such as reconciling accounts.

verb

Reconcile

To restore friendly relations between people or groups; to settle differences and bring something into harmony or agreement, such as reconciling accounts.

verb

💡

Imagine This

Imagine two longtime rivals in a town who attend a mediation. After they listen to each other’s grievances, they agree on compromises, shake hands, and decide to work together again.

🔊

Sounds Like

REK-uhn-syl

👀

Looks Like

A pair of balanced scales bringing two sides into balance

📝

Remember This

The noun form is reconciliation. Reconcile often implies bringing parts into agreement after disagreement, and it can also mean making financial records consistent.

📚

Other Forms

reconciledverb (past participle)

reconcilingverb (present participle)

reconciliationnoun

reconciliatoryadjective

reconcilernoun

🔗

Connect With

conciliate, harmonize, settle, mediate, appease, make peace

📌

Note

In finance, to reconcile means to compare two sets of records and make them agree. Do not confuse with 'resolve' in the sense of solving a problem; reconcile emphasizes bringing into agreement or peace.

🧠

Study Deeper

Examples

The two former rivals managed to reconcile after months of mediation.
The accountant carefully reconciled the company's bank statements with its ledger.

Synonyms

harmonizeresolvesettleconciliatebalance

Antonyms

conflictdisagreeestrange

Etymology

From Latin reconciliāre 'to bring together again,' from con- 'together' + concilium 'council, assembly' (hence the related word conciliatory).

Mnemonic

Reconcile = re + council: imagine two feuding groups calling a council to bring them back into agreement.