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• confederacy
  confederacy

  noun

  an alliance between persons, parties, states, etc., for some purpose.
• Confederacy
  Confederacy

  noun

  another name for Confederate States of America

confederacy

American  

[kuhn-fed-er-uh-see, -fed-ruh-see] / kənˈfɛd ər ə si, -ˈfɛd rə si /

noun

• confederacies
  plural

1. an alliance between persons, parties, states, etc., for some purpose.

2. a group of persons, parties, states, etc., united by such a confederacy.

3. a combination of persons for unlawful purposes; conspiracy.

4. the Confederacy. Confederate States of America.

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confederacy ¹ British  

/ kənˈfɛdərəsɪ, -ˈfɛdrəsɪ /

noun

1. a union or combination of peoples, states, etc; alliance; league

2. a combination of groups or individuals for unlawful purposes

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Confederacy ² British  

/ kənˈfɛdərəsɪ, -ˈfɛdrəsɪ /

noun

1. another name for Confederate States of America

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Confederacy Cultural  

1. The Confederate States of America; the government formed in 1861 by southern states that proclaimed their secession from the United States. Jefferson Davis was its president. The Confederacy was dissolved after the Civil War. (Compare Union.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• confederal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• confederacies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of confederacy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English confederacie, from Anglo-French, equivalent to Late Latin confoederāt(us) “united” (past participle of confoederāre “to unite in a league”; see confederate) + -ia -y ³ ( def. )

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Explanation

A confederacy is a political union. The most famous American confederacy consisted of the southern states who fought the northern states in the American Civil War. When you confederate — that is, join together for a common purpose — what you get is a confederacy. Americans will never forget a well-known but ill-fated confederacy, the Confederate States of America: an unrecognized state that formed in 1861, uniting the slave states that left the United States at the time of the Civil War. Any such political union could be called a confederacy (or a federation). When you see the word confederacy, think of togetherness in the political realm.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confederacy Confederacy confederacies

Athens emerged as the head of the Delian League, a confederacy of cities located along the Anatolian coast and on islands in the Aegean.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

In the confederacy, Georgia enacted a similar 15-day grace period, while Florida law provided an extra 20 days.

From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026

Known as “Lament for Confederation,” it was a landmark moment in First Nations history, calling out the meaning of the confederacy and the impact of colonization on Indigenous peoples.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

This confederacy of society’s richest and most powerful people is determined to ruin Benny’s life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2024

This confederacy incorporated six widely dispersed nations comprising thousands of agricultural villages and hunting grounds in what are currently known as New York, Pennsylvania, and Quebec.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The Civil War then gave new meaning to Key’s verses as the Union’s anthem while the Confederacy embraced “Dixie.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

As the U.S. plunged into Civil War in 1861, both the Union and Confederacy sought to link their side to God.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

Some years back, they had discovered that Willie’s own father was a Jewish immigrant from France who settled in Alexandria and fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

Back then, the two sides were called the Union and the Confederacy.

From Salon ● May 1, 2026

“Look, it’s just a little piece of river; once we take that, it’s like Shad told me—the Confederacy will be cut in two.”

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

Among township societies such as the Iroquois, groups of towns joined to form political confederacies.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

In the founding fathers' day, the possible confederacies most spoken of were the four Eastern states, the four "middle" states and the five Southern states.

From Salon ● May 10, 2020

Madison carefully prepared for the convention with thorough research in classical political theory, the history of ancient republics and confederacies, and the current politics of the states.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

The Chinese empire believed itself to be the sole legitimate political entity, while to its north and west tribal confederacies fought each other with glee.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2016

These confederacies, when organized, will doubtless consist of those groups of States now known as the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Pacific States.

From Nature and Culture by Harvey Rice

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