Words / C1

REK-uh-nsyl/ˈrekənsaɪl/

To reconcile is to bring two conflicting things — people, aims, or accounts — into a workable agreement. Native writers reconcile A with B: reconcile family life with shift work. Make up is informal for people; resolve a conflict can mean end it. In finance, reconcile the books means make the figures match. Reconciliation is the noun.

Meaning

To make two different ideas or people exist together peacefully.

Examples

• “She tried to reconcile work with study.”
• “I cannot reconcile those two paragraphs; one must go.”
• “After the row they were slow to reconcile.”

Good to know

reconcile A with B. people: make up (informal). accounts: make figures match. Noun: reconciliation.

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