Antifederalist

American  

[an-tee-fed-er-uh-list, -fed-ruh-, an-tahy-] / ˌæn tiˈfɛd ər ə lɪst, -ˈfɛd rə-, ˌæn taɪ- /

noun

1. U.S. History.  a member or supporter of the Antifederal party.

2. (lowercase)  an opponent of federalism.

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Antifederalist British  

/ -ˈfɛdrə-, ˌæntɪˈfɛdərəlɪst /

noun

1. history a person who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in 1789 and thereafter allied with Thomas Jefferson's Antifederal Party, which opposed extension of the powers of the federal Government

2. (often not capital) any person who opposes federalism

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Other Word Forms

• Antifederalism noun

Etymology

Origin of Antifederalist

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; anti- + federalist

Compare meaning

How does antifederalist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• federalism vs. Antifederalist

Example Sentences

The tea party movement that swept Republicans to power in the House in 2010 was a recent manifestation of the antifederalist strain in American politics.

From Washington Post

He argues that the antifederalist legacy had some positive effects, among them the Bill of Rights.

From Washington Post

Perhaps most ominously, one prominent Pennsylvanian identifying himself only as “An Old Whig,” wrote about this in Antifederalist No. 70 and is worth quoting at length:

From Washington Post

Indeed, preserving that right was one of the top demands of the Antifederalist skeptics of the proposed Constitution, and the Seventh Amendment was ratified precisely to preserve that ancient right in the courts of the newly constituted federal government.

From US News

Carver, who carries his Constitution in his shirt pocket even while baling hay, is a product of the same antifederalist ferment that produced such widely divergent events as the Oklahoma City bombing and Ross Perot's recent proposal to launch a new political party.

From Time Magazine Archive