David Starkey

Family really meant almost nothing to me for many years but then, to my enormous surprise, when I met my partner James I found myself re-engaging and re-connecting. My mother died in 1977 but I got to know my father as an adult, and he got on well with James. A rapprochement with my whole family followed.

English Historian

Amanda Foreman

For America, Britain has never been more than a strategic player, and when it suits them to use us, then there's been a rapprochement. But if it doesn't suit them, you're kicked out the door. In 1860, America was like a big, spoilt teenager trying to get away from its parent.

British Historian

J. William Fulbright

The rapprochement of peoples is only possible when differences of culture and outlook are respected and appreciated rather than feared and condemned, when the common bond of human dignity is recognized as the essential bond for a peaceful world.

American Politician

Elliott Abrams

The United States treated Gaddafi as an enemy due to his support for terrorism against us, until a rapprochement of sorts began under Pres. George W. Bush at the very end of 2003.

American Lawyer

Used mainly in diplomatic or political contexts, referring to thawing tensions and improving relations.

Often Diplomatic

Implies a gradual process, not an instant change in relations.

Not Immediate

The word is neutral, without implying who initiated the betterment or who was at fault.

Neutral Tone

Can apply to personal relationships, suggesting a mending of friendship or connection.

Beyond Politics

Indicates a positive and constructive development in relationships.

Positive Change

 lobbied for and improved U.S.-Iran relations now feared a U.S.-Iran rapprochement, thinking that it would come at Israel's security interests' expense, and instead sought to put Iran in increased isolation.

Rapprochement