Meaning & use
diplomacy
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The work of keeping up relations between countries, including talks, treaties and the sending of official representatives.
Grammar: Not used with an or a plural: diplomacy is difficult, never a diplomacy.
Patterns
- diplomacy between countries
- diplomacy with a country
Quiet diplomacy helped the two countries avoid a trade war.
The envoy spent months in diplomacy with neighboring governments.
Diplomacy, not force, finally settled the border question.
noununcountable
Skill in handling people carefully so that nobody is upset, especially in a delicate discussion.
Grammar: Often follows with or use: she handled it with diplomacy.
Patterns
- with diplomacy
- use diplomacy
She handled the complaint with great diplomacy and the customer left smiling.
A little diplomacy goes a long way when you have to disagree with your boss.
He used diplomacy to persuade his brothers to share the cost.
Common combinations
- international diplomacy
- International diplomacy depends on trust between leaders.
- shuttle diplomacy
- Shuttle diplomacy brought the two sides to the table.
- with diplomacy
- He turned down the offer with tact and diplomacy.
- economic diplomacy
- The minister promoted economic diplomacy to open new markets.
- require diplomacy
- Dividing up the family inheritance will require diplomacy.
- cultural diplomacy
- The orchestra's tour was a form of cultural diplomacy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tact
- Tact refers only to sensitivity in speech and behavior, while diplomacy can also mean official dealings between states.
- statecraft
- Statecraft is a formal word for the art of running a country, so it is wider than the negotiating focus of diplomacy.
- negotiation
- Negotiation names a specific discussion to reach an agreement, whereas diplomacy is the broader practice or skill behind it.
- discretion
- Discretion stresses keeping quiet and avoiding embarrassment, while diplomacy stresses smoothing relations and persuading people.
Opposites
Word family
- diplomat noun
- an official who represents a country abroad
- diplomatic adjective
- relating to diplomacy, or tactful
- diplomatically adverb
- in a tactful or official diplomatic way
- diplomatist noun
- an older word for a diplomat
Commonly confused: diplomacy or diploma?
diplomacy vs diploma
A diploma is a certificate awarded for finishing a course of study. Diplomacy has no connection to education, although both words share a Greek root meaning folded document.
Practice
When two coworkers argued, Lena used ____ to calm them down without taking either side.
Choose one answer.
Diplomacy means tactful handling of people, which fits calming a dispute while staying neutral. Dominance would mean taking control, and diversion and diagnosis do not describe tactful peacemaking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “diplomacy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.