Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act of forming into or becoming part of a confederacy.
  • noun The state of being confederated.
  • noun A group of confederates, especially of states or nations, united for a common purpose; a league.
  • noun The union of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada, brought about July 1, 1867, under the name Dominion of Canada.
  • noun Federal union of all the Canadian provinces and territories.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of confederating, or the state of being confederated; a league; a compact for mutual support; alliance.
  • noun An aggregate or body of confederates, or of confederated states; the persons or states united by a league.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of confederating; a league; a compact for mutual support; alliance, particularly of princes, nations, or states.
  • noun The parties that are confederated, considered as a unit; a confederacy.
  • noun See under Article.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A union or alliance of states or political organizations.
  • noun The act of forming an alliance.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a union of political organizations
  • noun the state of being allied or confederated
  • noun the act of forming an alliance or confederation

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word confederation.

Examples

  • Humans are killing the Earth and the alien confederation is distraught by this.

    Movie Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still | Heretical Ideas Magazine 2008

  • This simple fact gives the Prime Minister unbridled power and our confederation is littered with the corpses of bad legislation forced through Parliament by unscrupulous, corrupt Prime Ministers.

    The Stephen Harper Party [And Assorted Conservatives] « Unambiguously Ambidextrous 2008

  • It also underlines, in a sometimes embarrassingly blunt way, why for many in the current generation of Quebec political leaders the status quo of the Canadian confederation is unacceptable.

    The Association of Tomorrow 1979

  • There is another and possibly even more serious result of the west's unhappiness over their position in confederation and this could result in the actual break-up of the country.

    The Politics of Western Canada: Revolt or Reform 1973

  • We take from our part in confederation-in material terms-in dollars and cents-more than we put into it.

    Optimism for the Future 1972

  • They must, in particular, endeavour to further and deepen among all citizens and individuals and members of associations and communities, the understanding of and the support for the principles on which the Canadian confederation is based.

    Canadian Unity 1964

  • Certainly, this road to political unification or confederation is a long and rocky one.

    Inside the Common Market 1961

  • I may say, so far as British Columbia was concerned, we have always felt, since the province joined in confederation that the terms under which we entered confederation were not just.

    British Columbia and Confederation 1938

  • This confederation is only 50 years old, and I suppose some of usindeed I do-I remember the first anniversary of the organization of Canada.

    Imperial Reorganization 1916

  • While using the word confederation, I do not, of course, imply that anything similar to the federal union of Switzerland or of North America existed in Italy.

    Renaissance in Italy, Volumes 1 and 2 The Catholic Reaction John Addington Symonds 1866

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.