diplomacy

noun

di·​plo·​ma·​cy də-ˈplō-mə-sē 

1

: the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations

2

: skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : tact

handled the awkward situation with diplomacy

Synonyms

• tact
• tactfulness

Examples of diplomacy in a Sentence

She has had a long and distinguished career in diplomacy.

The government avoided a war by successfully resolving the issues through diplomacy.

This is a situation that calls for tactful diplomacy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Resisting Systemic Drift On the world stage, inertia is often called diplomacy, status quo, or economic realism. —Nell Derick Debevoise, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

The truth Trump may be reluctant to post about is that Russia’s diplomacy has predictably dissolved into a dizzying Catherine wheel of tangents. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 14 Apr. 2025

His ministry said Iran was dedicated to giving diplomacy a chance. —Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 12 Apr. 2025

In the decades since, Iran-U.S. relations have see-sawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy, with relations peaking when Tehran made the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers before Trump withdrew from the deal, sparking more tensions in the Mideast that persist today. —Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see diplomatic

First Known Use

1766, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing diplomacy

• dollar diplomacy
• gunboat diplomacy
• shuttle diplomacy

Kids Definition

diplomacy

noun

di·​plo·​ma·​cy də-ˈplō-mə-sē 

1

: the work of keeping up relations between the governments of different countries

2

: skill in dealing with others without causing bad feelings : tact