feudalism

[ fyood-l-iz-uhm ]

See synonyms for feudalism on Thesaurus.com

noun

the feudal system, or its principles and practices.

Origin of feudalism

First recorded in 1830–40; feudal + -ism

Other words from feudalism

feu·dal·ist, noun
feu·dal·is·tic, adjective
an·ti·feu·dal·ism, noun
an·ti·feu·dal·ist, noun
an·ti·feu·dal·is·tic, adjective
pre·feu·dal·ism, noun

Words Nearby feudalism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use feudalism in a sentence

That Silicon Valley is moving away from capitalism toward feudalism, with tech CEOs as feudal lords, and this is a good thing.
Occupying the Throne: Justine Tunney, Neoreactionaries, and the New 1% | Arthur Chu | August 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Then she and Red got into an argument about Putin, the Russian character and when Tsarism and feudalism truly ended in Russia.
Vegan Strippers Let It All Hang Out | Kelly Williams Brown | March 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The economy in California and elsewhere likely will determine the viability of neo-feudalism.
California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude | Joel Kotkin | October 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Yet except for occasional rumbling from the left, neo-feudalism likely represents the future.
California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude | Joel Kotkin | October 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The spirit of feudalism and of the old chivalry had all but departed, but had left a vacuum which was not yet supplied.
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century | Charles J. Abbey and John H. Overton

If it were a republic to-morrow, it would be a monster in legislation—half-jacobinism, half-feudalism.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
Though feudalism as a form of government is no longer fashionable, it still survives in spirit.
Ways of War and Peace | Delia Austrian
In the act has been seen the formal acceptance and date of the introduction of feudalism, but it has a very different meaning.
Landholding In England | Joseph Fisher
The system (if such a word can be applied at all) was in fact a bad form of feudalism without its advantages.
Is Ulster Right? | Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for feudalism

feudalism

/ (ˈfjuːdəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

Also called: feudal system the legal and social system that evolved in W Europe in the 8th and 9th centuries, in which vassals were protected and maintained by their lords, usually through the granting of fiefs, and were required to serve under them in war: See also vassalage, fief
any social system or society, such as medieval Japan or Ptolemaic Egypt, that resembles medieval European feudalism

Derived forms of feudalism

feudalist, noun
feudalistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for feudalism

feudalism

[ (fyoohd-l-iz-uhm) ]

A system of obligations that bound lords and their subjects in Europe during much of the Middle Ages. In theory, the king owned all or most of the land and gave it to his leading nobles in return for their loyalty and military service. The nobles in turn held land that peasants, including serfs, were allowed to farm in return for the peasants' labor and a portion of their produce. Under feudalism, people were born with a permanent position in society. (See fief and vassal.)

Notes for feudalism

Today, the word feudal is sometimes used as a general term for a set of social relationships that seems unprogressive or out of step with modern society.

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