What does reconcile mean?
Word: Reconcile
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Reconcile means to bring people together again after a quarrel. It also means to find a way for two ideas or facts that seem opposed to agree.
Synonyms: reunite, make up
Word origin: From Latin reconciliare, to bring together again, through Old French; in English since around the 14th century.
How do you spell reconcile?
Syllables: rec - on - cile
Tricky part: The s sound before ile is spelt with a c, so reconsile is wrong, and the word ends in a silent e that reconcil leaves out.
Watch out for: reconsile, reconcil, reconsel
Memory tip: Two friends who reconcile come full circle, and circle writes its s sound with a c, just as reconcile does.
Reconcile in a sentence
Example 1: After their quarrel over the cricket bat, the twins were reconciled by dinner time.
Example 2: It is hard to reconcile Rehan's quiet manner in class with his loud cheering at matches.
Example 3: Nani always manages to reconcile the cousins after their squabbles over the swing.
Fun Fact
Accountants reconcile too: when they compare a cash book with a bank statement and make the totals agree, the job is called a bank reconciliation.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) apologise
b) reconcile
c) harmoney
d) forgive
Show answer
c) harmoney. Harmony has no e: it ends in ony, as colony and balcony do.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
123456789 enercicol
a) 415872693
b) 451827639
c) 396728514
d) 415827693
Show answer
d) 415827693. Reading the letters in places 4, 1, 5, 8, 2, 7, 6, 9 and 3 spells r, e, c, o, n, c, i, l, e.
Word Champ
Choose the correct option for the blank:
According to the dictionary, to reconcile two people is to make them ___ again after a quarrel or an argument.
a) angry
b) freindly
c) friendly
d) distant
Show answer
c) friendly. Reconciling ends a quarrel, so the people become friendly again; freindly is a misspelling, and angry and distant say the opposite.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with reconcile?
a) exile
b) crocodile
c) council
d) textile
Show answer
c) council. Council ends in a short 'sul'; crocodile, exile and textile end in the 'ile' of smile, just as reconcile does.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. After a week of not speaking, the two friends reconciled. This means they ___.
a) decided to stay apart for good
b) made up and became friends again
c) met once more only to argue again
d) moved to different schools
Show answer
b) made up and became friends again
2. Which of these is an example of reconciling two ideas?
a) dropping both plans and starting again
b) finding a plan that keeps both sides happy
c) choosing one side and ignoring the other
d) asking someone else to decide later
Show answer
b) finding a plan that keeps both sides happy
