confederation

[kuhn-fed-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of confederating.

2. the state of being confederated.

3. a league or alliance.

   Synonyms: federation, coalition

4. a group of confederates, especially of states more or less permanently united for common purposes.

5. the Confederation, the union of the 13 original U.S. states under the Articles of Confederation 1781–89.

6. (initial capital letter),  the federation of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, formed in 1867 and constituting the Dominion of Canada.

confederation

¹

/ kənˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of confederating or the state of being confederated

2. a loose alliance of political units. The union of the Swiss cantons is the oldest surviving confederation Compare federation

3. (esp in Canada) another name for federation

Confederation

²

/ kənˌfɛdəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. history the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789

2. the federation of Canada, formed with four original provinces in 1867 and since joined by eight more

confederation

1. A group of nations or states, or a government encompassing several states or political divisions, in which the component states retain considerable independence. The members of a confederation often delegate only a few powers to the central authority.

Canada is officially a confederation of provinces.

The United States was governed as a confederation in the first few years of its independence (see Articles of Confederation).

Other Word Forms

• confederative adjective
• confederationist noun
• confederationism noun
• anticonfederationism noun
• anticonfederationist noun
• nonconfederation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of confederation¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin confoederātiō “agreement,” from confoederāt(us) “united” (past participle of confoederāre “to unite in a league”; confederate ) + -iō -ion

Synonym Study

See alliance.

Example Sentences

Qualifying for the confederation’s top club competition would be a considerable accomplishment for the Galaxy, who are last in the MLS table nine months after winning their sixth league title.

From Los Angeles Times

“You have all these club competitions on a confederation, continental level, right?” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

A significant portion of that prize money will go to teams just for showing up, with the amount differing by confederation.

From Los Angeles Times

So twice in the past decade the confederation brought South America’s championship tournament to North America just to make things interesting.

From Los Angeles Times

Ahead of Thursday's vote, Jesper Ettrup Rasmussen, the chairman of a Danish trade union confederation, said the proposal to increase the retirement age was "completely unfair".

From BBC