reconcile

Everyday

1. To make friends again after a quarrel: «The two friends were reconciled». tree →
2. To make two ideas, facts or needs agree with each other, or show that they can both be true. tree →
3. (reconcile yourself to) To accept something unpleasant that you cannot change. tree →
4. (money) To check that two sets of figures, such as bank records and receipts, match. tree →
5. (church) In Christian teaching, to be brought back into friendship with God; the sacrament of Reconciliation is confession in the Catholic Church. tree →

In the lessons

In stories and ethics lessons: two characters reconcile after a fight; making peace is brave. In maths and money: reconciling accounts means checking that totals match. In formal writing: reconcile different views. In church life: Catholics speak of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where a person confesses their sins to a priest and is forgiven, as they believe. Phrases: «reconcile with», «be reconciled», «reconcile yourself to», «reconcile the accounts».

Examples

• After a week of not talking, the two friends were reconciled. tree →
• Mum and her sister finally reconciled after years apart. tree →
• It is hard to reconcile wanting to save money with wanting a new game. tree →
• He reconciled himself to missing the trip because he was ill. tree →
• Dad reconciled his bank statement with his receipts and found a mistake. tree →
• Our story ended with the two kings reconciled and the war over. tree →
• Catholics believe that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives their sins. tree →
• When King Pippin heard that he begged his brother’s pardon, and they were reconciled at once and became good friends. tree →

Note

Regular verb: reconciled. Stress: REC-on-sile. Noun: reconciliation (rec-on-sil-ee-AY-shun). «Reconcile with» a person; «reconcile yourself to» a situation. In money tasks, when two lists are reconciled, the totals must be equal; any difference is a mistake to find.

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah it means to bring two opposites into balance by standing between them.

Interpretation. In Sefer Yetzirah the letter Aleph, standing for air, balances silent Water (Mem) and hissing Fire (Shin) like the tongue of a scale.

Examples

• The three fundamental letters א״מ״ש signify, as מ is mute like the water and ש hissing like the fire, there is א among them, a breath of air which reconciles them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• Water is silent, Fire is sibilant, and Air derived fron the Spirit is as the tongue of a balance standing between these contraries which are in equilibrium, reconciling and mediating between them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
• Water is silent, Fire is sibilant, and Air derived from the Spirit is as the tongue of a balance standing between these contraries which are in equilibrium, reconciling and mediating between them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →

Note

Regular verb: reconciled. Stress: REC-on-sile. Noun: reconciliation (rec-on-sil-ee-AY-shun). «Reconcile with» a person; «reconcile yourself to» a situation. In money tasks, when two lists are reconciled, the totals must be equal; any difference is a mistake to find.