Word of the Day

: January 22, 2009

reconcile

verb REK-un-syle

What It Means

1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony

b : settle, resolve

2 : to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant

3 a : to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy

b : to account for

reconcile in Context

I have reconciled myself to the fact that my two best friends may never be fond of each other.

Did You Know?

"Adapt," "adjust," "accommodate," "conform," and "reconcile" all mean to bring one thing into agreement with another. "Adapt" implies a modification according to changing circumstances ("they adapted to the warmer climate"). "Adjust" suggests bringing something into a close and exact correspondence or harmony ("we adjusted the budget to allow for inflation"). "Accommodate" may suggest yielding or compromising to form an agreement ("he accommodated his political beliefs in order to win"). "Conform" suggests coming into accordance with a pattern, example, or principle ("she refused to conform to society's values"). "Reconcile" implies the demonstration of the underlying compatibility of things that seem to be incompatible ("I tried to reconcile what he said with what I knew").