Jump To:

• confederation
  confederation

  noun

  the act of confederating.
• Confederation
  Confederation

  noun

  history the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789

confederation

American  

[kuhn-fed-uh-rey-shuhn] / kənˌfɛd əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of confederating.

2. the state of being confederated.

3. a league or alliance.

   Synonyms:

   federation, coalition

4. a group of confederates, especially of states more or less permanently united for common purposes.

5. the Confederation, the union of the 13 original U.S. states under the Articles of Confederation 1781–89.

6. (initial capital letter) the federation of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, formed in 1867 and constituting the Dominion of Canada.

---

confederation ¹ British  

/ kənˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of confederating or the state of being confederated

2. a loose alliance of political units. The union of the Swiss cantons is the oldest surviving confederation Compare federation

3. (esp in Canada) another name for federation

---

Confederation ² British  

/ kənˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. history the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789

2. the federation of Canada, formed with four original provinces in 1867 and since joined by eight more

---

confederation Cultural  

1. A group of nations or states, or a government encompassing several states or political divisions, in which the component states retain considerable independence. The members of a confederation often delegate only a few powers to the central authority.

---

Synonym Usage

See alliance.

Discover More

Canada is officially a confederation of provinces.

The United States was governed as a confederation in the first few years of its independence (see Articles of Confederation).

Other Word Forms

• anticonfederationism
  noun
• anticonfederationist
  noun
• confederationism
  noun
• confederationist
  noun
• nonconfederation
  noun
• confederative
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of confederation

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin confoederātiō “agreement,” from confoederāt(us) “united” (past participle of confoederāre “to unite in a league”; see confederate) + -iō -ion

Explanation

When a group of people or nations form an alliance, it is called a confederation, allowing each member to govern itself but agreeing to work together for common causes. Perhaps the best-known confederation was the South during the U.S. Civil War. The noun confederation comes from the early 15th Century, meaning “an agreement.” Confederation is similar to the word "federation," but with important differences. Whereas a federation has a strong central government, a confederation is more of an agreement between separate bodies to cooperate with each other. The European alliance could be called a confederation, while the United States is a federation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confederation Confederation

"At first blush, this case may not seem momentous," said Koh from the trade union confederation.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

Such a move would also upset the carefully managed construction of the tournament field by increasing Europe’s participation to 17 teams while taking one spot away from the Asian confederation, which Iran represents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

“I think the cardinals were looking for three things,” said Alistair Dutton, secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic humanitarian organizations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026

Meanwhile, adding to the whole aura of professionalism, President Trump also didn’t seem entirely certain it was the head of the Swiss confederation on the call.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 11, 2026

The Old Dominion was accustomed to thinking of itself as primus inter pares in any confederation of states.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

And despite a World Cup last-16 exit at the hands of Norway, the Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed the 67-year-old will remain in charge of the five-time world champions.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

The buzz: Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic, is another first-time World Cup qualifier, having punched its ticket for the tournament by finishing second to Iran in its Asian Confederation qualifying group.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Artan, who in 2025 was named men's referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football, would have been the first Somali to referee at a World Cup.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

Congress issued the Declaration as part of a package that included a model treaty with foreign states and Articles of Confederation that defined how the U.S. would be governed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

The first enigmatic bargain concerned the expansion of slavery into the West and actually occurred in the Confederation Congress that was also meeting in Philadelphia.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis