federal

CEFRC1

/ˈfɛdəɹəl/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Relating to a central government rather than a local one.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Pertaining to the national government level in a federal nation, as opposed to state, provincial, county, city, or town.

Examples

  • A huge federal budget deficit has been plaguing the American economy for many years.

  • Americans pay both federal taxes and state taxes.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • [ˈfɛdəɹəl] ~ [ˈfɛdəɹl̩]

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Relating to covenantalism.

  2. Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A federal agent or (chiefly law-enforcement) official.

More examples

In context

  • Please send this by Federal Express.

  • federal theology

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank government passed a new law requiring seat belts in all cars.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From French fédéral, from Latin stem foeder- of foedus (“covenant, league, treaty, alliance”).