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
Jonathan WeismanExamples 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
The House’s change of heart opens the door for a two-track plan to fund DHS through a spending bill and a budget reconciliation package later this year.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
The reconciliation process comes with a key advantage of not being subject to a filibuster.
—Isabella Murray, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
Congress will ultimately decide how much of this funding becomes law, especially the reconciliation portion, which remains uncertain.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 3 Apr. 2026
Entries that have been flagged for reconciliation and those designated on a drawback claim or covered by an open protest will not be processed yet.
—Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reconciliation
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
The reconciliation process comes with a key advantage of not being subject to a filibuster.
—Isabella Murray, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
Congress will ultimately decide how much of this funding becomes law, especially the reconciliation portion, which remains uncertain.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 3 Apr. 2026
Entries that have been flagged for reconciliation and those designated on a drawback claim or covered by an open protest will not be processed yet.
—Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reconciliation
Cite this Entry
“Reconciliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconciliation. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
