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confederation

 - 3 dictionary results

con⋅fed⋅er⋅a⋅tion

  [kuhn-fed-uh-rey-shuhn]
Use confederation in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of confederating.
2. the state of being confederated.
3. a league or alliance.
4. a group of confederates, esp. 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.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < LL confoederātiōn- (s. of confoederātiō) an agreement, equiv. to confoederāt(us) confederate + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
con⋅fed⋅er⋅a⋅tion⋅ism, noun
con⋅fed⋅er⋅a⋅tion⋅ist, noun

Synonyms:
3. coalition, federation. See alliance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To confederation
con·fed·er·a·tion   (kən-fěd'ə-rā'shən)   
n.  

    1. The act of forming into or becoming part of a confederacy.

    2. The state of being confederated.

    3. 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.

    4. The federal union of all the Canadian provinces and territories, the most recent member being Newfoundland in 1949.

  2. A group of confederates, especially of states or nations, united for a common purpose; a league.

  3. Confederation

    1. 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.

    2. The federal union of all the Canadian provinces and territories, the most recent member being Newfoundland in 1949.

con·fed'er·a'tion·ism n., con·fed'er·a'tion·ist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

confederation

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.

Note: The United States was governed as a confederation in the first few years of its independence (see Articles of Confederation).
Note: Canada is officially a confederation of provinces.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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