federalist

[ fed-er-uh-list ]

noun

1. an advocate of federalism.
2. (initial capital letter) U.S. History. a member or supporter of the Federalist party.

adjective

1. Also fed·er·al·is·tic []. of federalism or the Federalists.

Federalist

/ ˈfɛdərəlɪst /

noun

1. a supporter or member of the Federalist party

adjective

1. characteristic of the Federalists

Other Words From

• hy·per·fed·er·al·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of federalist¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; federal + -ist

Example Sentences

Though Abiy’s government will weather the storm, there is more controversy to come as he moves forward with plans to amend Ethiopia’s constitution to change the country’s ethno-federalist structure.

From Time

America’s federalist structure also makes collective action, handed down from the federal level, extremely difficult.

From Vox

And as one of the initial organizers of the Federalist Society, he is a skilled political tactician.

From The Daily Beast

In the Federalist Papers, James Madison wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

From The Daily Beast

As Madison put it in Federalist 52, the House was to be “dependent on the People alone.”

From The Daily Beast

Not the rich,” as he wrote in Federalist 57, “more than the poor.

From The Daily Beast

The first sentence of The Federalist Society states that this is a book “about the power of ideas.”

From The Daily Beast

But Mr. Parnell was thinking only of Ireland, and he was not a Federalist.

From Project Gutenberg

But the propertied classes in the interior belonged chiefly to the Federalist party.

From Project Gutenberg

To-day Jeffersons directions are observed, and the Federalist remains the text-book.

From Project Gutenberg

He says the Republican and the Federalist parties were divided by a bottomless gulf in their theories of constitutional powers.

From Project Gutenberg

The Federalist clergy joined in denouncing Jefferson on the ground that he was an atheist.

From Project Gutenberg