Meaning & use
conciliation
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The act of calming anger and winning back goodwill, so that people who disagreed can get along again.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: a policy of conciliation.
Patterns
- conciliation between someone and someone
- a spirit of conciliation
The president made a speech of conciliation after the bitter election.
They hoped conciliation would end the feud between the families.
Her gesture of conciliation was accepted with relief.
noununcountablelegal
A formal process in which a neutral person helps two sides in a dispute reach an agreement without going to court.
Grammar: Used in law and employment: the case went to conciliation.
Patterns
- go to conciliation
- conciliation service
The union and the company agreed to enter conciliation.
A conciliation service helped the couple settle their dispute.
Most complaints are resolved through conciliation before reaching a tribunal.
Common combinations
- spirit of conciliation
- The two leaders met in a spirit of conciliation.
- conciliation talks
- Conciliation talks began on Monday.
- conciliation service
- The labor conciliation service offered to help.
- gesture of conciliation
- Sending flowers was a gesture of conciliation.
- policy of conciliation
- The government adopted a policy of conciliation toward the strikers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reconciliation
- Reconciliation stresses restoring a friendly relationship after a break, while conciliation can begin before the quarrel is over.
- mediation
- Mediation focuses on a neutral helper guiding talks, while conciliation also includes the effort to soothe feelings.
- appeasement
- Appeasement is usually critical, suggesting giving in to a stronger side, while conciliation is more neutral.
- arbitration
- In arbitration a third party decides the outcome, while in conciliation the sides agree themselves.
Opposites
Word family
- conciliate verb
- to win over or calm someone
- conciliatory adjective
- intended to make peace
- conciliator noun
- a person who helps settle a dispute
- irreconcilable adjective
- impossible to bring into agreement
Commonly confused: conciliation or reconciliation?
conciliation vs reconciliation
Reconciliation is the restored friendship itself, while conciliation is the effort or process that tries to bring it about.
Practice
What mainly distinguishes conciliation from arbitration?
Choose one answer.
Conciliation helps the parties agree for themselves, while arbitration lets a third party decide. It is generally outside court and not limited to money.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “conciliation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.