federal
Americanadjective
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pertaining to or of the nature of a union of states under a central government distinct from the individual governments of the separate states, as in
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of, relating to, or noting such a central government.
federal offices.
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(initial capital letter)
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of or relating to the Federalists or to the Federalist party.
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supporting the principles of the Federalist party.
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(in the Civil War) pertaining to or supporting the Union government.
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relating to or adhering to the support of the Constitution.
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(initial capital letter) pertaining to or designating the styles of the decorative arts and architecture current in the U.S. from about 1780 to about 1830.
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of or relating to a compact or a league, especially a league between nations or states.
noun
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an advocate of federation or federalism.
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(initial capital letter)
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a Federalist.
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an adherent of the Union government during the Civil War; Unionist.
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a soldier in the Federal army.
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adjective
noun
adjective
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of or relating to a form of government or a country in which power is divided between one central and several regional governments
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of or relating to a treaty between provinces, states, etc, that establishes a political unit in which power is so divided
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of or relating to the central government of a federation
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of or relating to any union or association of parties or groups that retain some autonomy
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(of a university) comprised of relatively independent colleges
noun
Other Word Forms
- federally adverb
- federalness noun
- nonfederal adjective
- quasi-federal adjective
- quasi-federally adverb
Etymology
Origin of federal
First recorded in 16205–30; earlier foederal, from Latin foeder- (stem of foedus ) “formal agreement, treaty, league” + -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On Saturday, federal prosecutors handed Oseguera's body over to his family, which took it from Mexico City to Guadalajara for burial in the suburb of Zapopan.
From Barron's
It also inked an agreement with the central procurement arm of the federal government to let other agencies use Claude.
At least one person associated with the transactions of the defunct tech company AllHere is cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.
From Los Angeles Times
Judges may use it as a reference, without a disclaimer from the research and education arm of the federal court system.
The administration said the president had broad leeway to take action against firms, particularly regarding their interactions with the federal government.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
