MSN Learning & Research - Dictionaries - modus vivendi: mo�dus vi�ven�di. noun. 1. compromise: a practical arrangement that allows conflicting people, groups, or ideas to coexist 2. way of life: the way that a particular person or group of people lives "Australia has struggled to find a modus vivendi with the Aborigines, who were appallingly treated for most of the time since the first settlers arrived in 1788, and not recognised as Australian citizens until 1967." Never heard this word before. And it's an excellent term. I'll hear it more in the future. I'll use it.