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  history the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789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

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 history the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789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

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confederation ² 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

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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.

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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

British mariners shipwrecked on Palau some 50 years earlier had helped another confederation, the Koror people, in war with a feuding village.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

The most likely replacement scenario would have Iraq, the top non-qualifier from the Asian confederation, taking Iran’s place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 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

Patuxet was one of the dozen or so settlements in what is now eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island that comprised the Wampanoag confederation.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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

John Foster, from the Confederation of British Industry, which represents businesses, welcomed the pilot, saying the current system "fails employers, workers, and the economy".

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

After the war ended in 1783, American settlers resisted oversight by both the Confederation and, after 1789, the Constitutional government under President Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Distressed by the political disarray in the state governments in the 1780s and the congenital weakness of the Articles of Confederation, Madison had helped mobilize the movement for the Constitutional Convention.

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