reconciliation

noun

rec·​on·​cil·​i·​a·​tion ˌre-kən-ˌsi-lē-ˈā-shən How to pronounce reconciliation (audio)
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 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
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.
Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas’ forces in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed. Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025 Financial reconciliation between the parties will take place within two months of Saturday’s game. Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 Apr. 2025 Budget cuts to present bigger hurdle for reconciliation Republicans in the House have set a substantially higher bar for budget cuts in their tax cut and spending package than their colleagues in the Senate. Aris Folley, The Hill, 23 Apr. 2025 Establishing robust validation and reconciliation mechanisms ensures that configuration standards are enforced across all environments, reducing the risk of unintended deviations that might compromise application reliability. Ben Ofiri, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for reconciliation

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of reconciliation was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Reconciliation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconciliation. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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