feudal
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or like the feudal system, or its political, military, social, and economic structure.
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of or relating to the Middle Ages.
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of, relating to, or of the nature of a fief or fee.
a feudal estate.
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of or relating to the holding of land in a fief or fee.
adjective
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of, resembling, relating to, or characteristic of feudalism or its institutions
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of, characteristic of, or relating to a fief Compare allodial
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derogatory old-fashioned, reactionary, etc
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of feudal
From the Medieval Latin word feudālis, dating back to 1605–15. See feud 2, -al 1
Explanation
Anything feudal relates to the medieval system of feudalism — where the nobility owned the land while everyone else worked it. It was no fun to be a lowly serf in the feudal system. Though it has roots in Latin, the adjective feudal (and its relative feudalism) were created by historians to describe the social system after it actually took place. Feudal may both look and sound similar to feud as in a long standing fight, but it’s not actually related — unless the argument happened to take place in medieval Europe.
Vocabulary lists containing feudal
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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Vocabulary from the Magna Carta on its 800th Anniversary
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"Democracy in America, Vol. 1" by Alexis de Tocqueville, Introduction–Chapter 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 is a fascinating moment because it’s a time when the notion of democracy wasn’t even a twinkle in a feudal servant’s eye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
With no feudal background, America lacked a capital city like London or Paris designed to showcase the arts, so the idea spread across all 50 states.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Nightclubbing started some 350 years ago in Yoshiwara, near Tokyo, “a flashy pleasure quarter” of feudal Japan that served, Ms. Willetts writes, as “the ultimate pressure valve for the shogun’s otherwise disciplined regime.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The duchy has its roots in medieval, feudal land ownership, but it has been having something of an image make-over, with an emphasis on social value, such as providing affordable housing and protecting the environment.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
We learn that things were one way, something happened, and then things were another way: On Monday peasants toiled in the mud for feudal kings.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
