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• federal
  federal

  adjective

  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
• Federal
  Federal

federal

American  

[fed-er-uhl] / ˈfɛd ər əl /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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noun

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

   2. a Federalist

federal ² British  

/ 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

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noun

1. a supporter of federal union or federation

Other Word Forms

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

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Etymology

Origin of federal

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

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Explanation

Federal refers to the national government. The voting age is determined by the federal government while the driving age is decided on a state by state basis. Before the Constitution was ratified, the United States was a loose confederation of states, with no real federal government. The Constitution created a stronger federal government but to this day, there is a conflict between those who want power to go to the states and those who support federal control. States don't seem to mind federal subsidies though.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

federal Federal

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in a federal court in New York in July.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

University student Fadumo Ali worried that a disputed federal election "could undermine governance and national unity".

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Investors are also awaiting weekly U.S. oil-inventory figures from the Energy Information Administration, scheduled for release later Thursday after a one-day delay because of Monday’s federal holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The paper also reported that Paxton rang in 2025 at a New Year’s party in Dubai attended by two men federal prosecutors had indicted for allegedly embezzling millions from an Illinois hospital.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

Together, they drafted a letter to Rudolf Abel and mailed it to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Retail sales, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve business-outlook survey, weekly jobless claims and the producer-price index are due at 8:30 a.m.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Asian stocks plunged Thursday as tech firms suffered another painful rout after forecast-topping US inflation data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve will have to ramp interest rates higher.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Federal prosecutors allege that the 35-year-old Alfozan had spent weeks scoping out an executive conference room inside an OpenAI office building where top-secret meetings about industry-leading AI models and products took place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The data boosted the perceived odds of another Federal Reserve interest-rate hike later this month, but bond investors didn’t seem to care.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

“I think Alan Greenspan will go down as the worst chairman of the Federal Reserve in history,” he’d say, when given the slightest chance.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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