Reconcilable means able to be brought into agreement or made consistent with something else. When two ideas, facts, or positions are reconcilable, you can find a way to make them work together or resolve the conflict between them.

Imagine two friends arguing about which movie to watch. If one wants action and the other wants comedy, their preferences might be reconcilable if they find an action-comedy that satisfies both. But if one insists on a brand-new release and the other will only watch movies from the 1950s, their positions might not be reconcilable.

In science, when a new discovery seems to contradict an old theory, scientists work to see if the ideas are reconcilable. Sometimes they find that both are actually true when understood correctly. Other times, they discover the ideas are irreconcilable, meaning there's no way to make them fit together, and one must be wrong.

The word often appears in its negative form: irreconcilable. When people have irreconcilable differences, it means they've reached disagreements so fundamental that no compromise can bridge them. Understanding whether differences are reconcilable helps you know when to keep working toward agreement and when positions are simply too far apart.