compromette

Compromette is a term that has appeared in online discussions and informal writings on negotiation and conflict resolution. It designates a strategy or outcome that involves deliberate, incremental concessions to reach a practical agreement without fully resolving all issues.

The term refers to an arrangement in which concessions are split into small, reversible steps on low-stakes topics to preserve leverage on high-stakes terms, with the aim of achieving a viable partial agreement rather than a complete settlement.

Etymology: The word appears to blend compromise with the diminutive suffix -ette, suggesting a smaller or refined form of compromise.

Origins and usage: The term is not widely standardized; it emerged in online forums and some blogs in the early 2020s and has not been adopted in formal negotiation theory.

Examples: In a product-development negotiation, the teams reached a compromette on schedule constraints that allowed continued collaboration while leaving pricing decisions open.

See also: compromise, negotiation theory, concession, partial agreement.

References: None established.