Definitions

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

  • noun The act of federating, especially a joining together of states into a league or federal union.
  • noun A league or association formed by federating, especially a government or political body established through federal union.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of uniting in confederation by league and covenant.
  • noun A league; a confederacy; a federal alliance.
  • noun A federal government, as that of the United States, Switzerland, or Germany.
  • noun Synonyms See confederation.

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

  • noun The act of uniting in a league; confederation.
  • noun A league; a confederacy; a federal or confederated government.

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

  • noun Act of joining together into a single political entity.
  • noun Array of nations or states that are unified under one central authority which is elected by its members.
  • noun Any society or organisation formed from separate groups or bodies.
  • adjective Australia Of an architectural style popular around the time of federation.

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

  • noun a union of political organizations
  • noun an organization formed by merging several groups or parties
  • noun the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French fédération, from Late Latin foederatio, from Latin foederare.

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Examples

  • The creation of the federation is being announced at a Tea Party Express rally Thursday morning in St. Paul, Minnesota.

    Tea Party movement attempts to unite? 2010

  • We must emphasise that a federation is a highly contemporary form of government with a broad capacity to accommodate itself to the challenge of tomorrow.

    The Referendum: Everyone's Business 1995

  • In such matters, the federation is the farmers 'spokesman, and when their officers tell us what they want, we know they are speaking for the common farmer, instead of merely using the farmer as a tool to advance their own ideas.

    The Non-Partisan Movement 1922

  • DMC, the federation is nothing more than an impotent union.

    Welcome ‘Times’ Readers « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • Roll Call: Even as the AFL-CIO braces for losses among its Democratic allies in Congress, the union federation is mobilizing its grass-roots operation in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections.

    HUFFPOST HILL - OCTOBER 18TH, 2010 The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • Right now the federation is running the league, which is not an optimal situation for anyone, Garber said.

    Montreal to join MLS in 2012 as 19th team 2010

  • According to a statement from the Tea Party Express, one of the groups participating, the federation is being "established to create a unified message and media response amongst key leadership and their affiliates."

    Tea Party movement attempts to unite? 2010

  • "Clubs are very well aware of the landscape, and I'm sure the fact that the Russian federation is not currently participating in the player transfer agreement will factor into clubs 'evaluations of players and their decisions on who to draft and when."

    American first-rounders could break 2006 record 2007

  • The federation is nothing more than a board of executives who really do not care about the Police in General.

    Please Be Patient While I Ignore You « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2007

  • The Norwegian delegation will be dressed in red and white gear equipped with hoods rimmed with fur, probably from Chinese raccoon dogs, but the sports federation is investigating the fur's origin.

    USATODAY.com - Moguls skier Mayer heads to Olympics with heavy burden 2006

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