federal

[fed-er-uhl]

adjective

1. 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

2. of, relating to, or noting such a central government.

   federal offices.

3. (initial capital letter)

   1. of or relating to the Federalists or to the Federalist party.

   2. supporting the principles of the Federalist party.

   3. (in the Civil War) pertaining to or supporting the Union government.

   4. relating to or adhering to the support of the Constitution.

4. (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.

5. of or relating to a compact or a league, especially a league between nations or states.

noun

1. an advocate of federation or federalism.

2. (initial capital letter)

   1. a Federalist.

   2. an adherent of the Union government during the Civil War; Unionist.

   3. a soldier in the Federal army.

Federal

¹

/ ˈfɛdərəl /

adjective

1. 1. of or relating to the Federalist party or Federalism

   2. characteristic of or supporting the Union government during the American Civil War

noun

1. 1. a supporter of the Union government during the American Civil War

   2. a Federalist

federal

²

/ ˈfɛdərəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to a form of government or a country in which power is divided between one central and several regional governments

2. of or relating to a treaty between provinces, states, etc, that establishes a political unit in which power is so divided

3. of or relating to the central government of a federation

4. of or relating to any union or association of parties or groups that retain some autonomy

5. (of a university) comprised of relatively independent colleges

noun

1. a supporter of federal union or federation

Other Word Forms

• federally adverb
• federalness noun
• nonfederal adjective
• quasi-federal adjective
• quasi-federally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of federal¹

First recorded in 16205–30; earlier foederal, from Latin foeder- (stem of foedus ) “formal agreement, treaty, league” + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of federal¹

C17: from Latin foedus league

Example Sentences

As we approached the broad face of the 1930s federal building that had served as Carville’s hospital, I tried to catch my father’s eye, but I couldn’t read his face.

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The reality is that many people are in this man’s situation — 43 million Americans have federal student-loan debt — and it’s likely that whoever you date next will also have some amount of debt.

Read more on MarketWatch

But the change never got the required federal approval so the extension was moot.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The ruling may force the justice department to find a new prosecutor to supervise federal criminal cases in New Jersey.

Read more on BBC

Traditional online sports betting remains illegal in 19 states, including California and Texas, while events contracts are legal across the U.S. and regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• civil 
• communal 
• domestic 
• ethnic 
• governmental www.thesaurus.com
• internal 
• interstate 
• nationwide 
• public 
• social