con·fed·er·ate
kən-ˈfe-d(ə-)rət 
1
: united in a league : allied
2
Confederate
: of or relating to the Confederate States of America
plural confederates
1
: ally, accomplice
2
Confederate
: an adherent of the Confederate States of America or their cause
con·fed·er·ate
kən-ˈfe-də-ˌrāt
confederated; confederating
: to unite in a confederacy
: to band together
Synonyms
Examples of confederate in a Sentence
Noun
the Yankees and the Confederates
the police were able to track down his confederates once the thief started talking
Verb
the nations confederated in order to lower international trade barriers
Recent Examples on the Web
Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023
Aldean — who in the past has courted controversy by wearing a t-shirt featuring a confederate flag and dressing in blackface as Lil Wayne for Halloween — denied on Tuesday that the song had any ill intent.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 20 July 2023
The NuSouth presented three different variations of the confederate flag, one with a red background, another in black, and a third with green.
—Essence, 11 Aug. 2022
The change was part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after confederate soldiers.
—Hannah Schoenbaum, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2023
In 2016, the organization was barred from flying confederate flags in the Fort Worth Stock Show parade in downtown.
—Sarah Bahari, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
Last summer, as social justice protestors marched in cities and towns across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a White police officer, the removal of monuments honoring confederate leaders accelerated in parts of the country.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2021
Taylor pointed out that for more than a decade, the NCAA refused to hold events in South Carolina because the confederate flag flew at the statehouse.
—Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2023
Mississippi had used a flag featuring the confederate battle cross for 126 years and was the last state to do so.
—April Siese, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2020
IEEE Spectrum, 19 Aug. 2020
Sachems And Sinners, An Informal History of Tammany Hall
Even more disturbingly, Manton’s confederates included the underworld forces who, in tandem with the Tammany Hall political machine, ruled much of New York in the 1930s.
—Time, 25 July 2023
The confederate had long dark hair arranged in three different hairstyles: one with her hair falling naturally on her shoulders and her back, one with her hair tied in a ponytail, and one with her hair twisted in a bun.
—Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 18 Nov. 2015
The chief architect of the attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, is said to have denied that the hijackers had any confederates waiting for them in the United States.
—Tim Golden, ProPublica, 27 Apr. 2023
After weeks of waiting, corporate leadership finally logged in to perform some basic social/security checks and approve the applications for Flam_Hill and a confederate.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 12 Apr. 2023
Who are your confederates, who are your allies?
—Russell Flannery, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2023
As part of the plot, Domingo asked his confederate — who was cooperating with the FBI as part of the investigation — to find a bomb maker, and Domingo then purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside the explosive device, according to officials.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2021
Even the closest confederate to turn on Trump, his lawyer-fixer Michael Cohen, described the elliptical ways Trump directed him, in private conversations, to engage in illicit conduct.
—Scott Turow, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2023
Andrew R. Chow, Time, 21 Nov. 2022
The holiday celebrates confederate soldiers such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.
—Mabinty Quarshie, USA TODAY, 15 June 2021
Early Thursday, the administration became aware of racist and confederate symbols of hate through a flag near a stairwell and defacing of a sidewalk, Principal David Travis said.
—Megan Jones, chicagotribune.com, 13 May 2021
As other cities have taken down monuments to confederate leaders, debate has arisen about what McKinney should do with the Throckmorton statue.
—Jon Arnold, Dallas News, 29 July 2020
By Tuesday morning, the cornerstone of the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument was removed, punctuating the city’s long legal fight to remove a monument dedicated to confederate veterans.
—al, 3 June 2020
Former Birmingham Mayor William Bell ordered a monument to confederate veterans covered in August 2017.
—Anna Beahm | Abeahm@al.com, al, 12 Feb. 2020
Should confederate monuments be preserved or destroyed?
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2017
The Warren County monument is one of four memorials to confederate soldiers in Ohio.
—Cincinnati.com, 22 Aug. 2017
See More
Adjective
The trailer then features scenes of Reeves riding horses with his fellow officers and fighting both criminals and confederate soldiers all the while, members of his family arm themselves against those who combat their way of life.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023
Aldean — who in the past has courted controversy by wearing a t-shirt featuring a confederate flag and dressing in blackface as Lil Wayne for Halloween — denied on Tuesday that the song had any ill intent.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 20 July 2023
The NuSouth presented three different variations of the confederate flag, one with a red background, another in black, and a third with green.
—Essence, 11 Aug. 2022
The change was part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after confederate soldiers.
—Hannah Schoenbaum, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2023
In 2016, the organization was barred from flying confederate flags in the Fort Worth Stock Show parade in downtown.
—Sarah Bahari, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023
Last summer, as social justice protestors marched in cities and towns across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a White police officer, the removal of monuments honoring confederate leaders accelerated in parts of the country.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2021
Taylor pointed out that for more than a decade, the NCAA refused to hold events in South Carolina because the confederate flag flew at the statehouse.
—Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2023
Mississippi had used a flag featuring the confederate battle cross for 126 years and was the last state to do so.
—April Siese, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2020
Noun
But as the experiment progressed and the confederate mistreated one of the robots— which did not help with the task— people might have felt in conflict with the actions of the confederate.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Aug. 2020
Sachems And Sinners, An Informal History of Tammany Hall
Even more disturbingly, Manton’s confederates included the underworld forces who, in tandem with the Tammany Hall political machine, ruled much of New York in the 1930s.
—Time, 25 July 2023
The confederate had long dark hair arranged in three different hairstyles: one with her hair falling naturally on her shoulders and her back, one with her hair tied in a ponytail, and one with her hair twisted in a bun.
—Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 18 Nov. 2015
The chief architect of the attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, is said to have denied that the hijackers had any confederates waiting for them in the United States.
—Tim Golden, ProPublica, 27 Apr. 2023
After weeks of waiting, corporate leadership finally logged in to perform some basic social/security checks and approve the applications for Flam_Hill and a confederate.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 12 Apr. 2023
Who are your confederates, who are your allies?
—Russell Flannery, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2023
As part of the plot, Domingo asked his confederate — who was cooperating with the FBI as part of the investigation — to find a bomb maker, and Domingo then purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside the explosive device, according to officials.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2021
Even the closest confederate to turn on Trump, his lawyer-fixer Michael Cohen, described the elliptical ways Trump directed him, in private conversations, to engage in illicit conduct.
—Scott Turow, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2023
Verb
The Kinfolk app’s launch comes as fierce debate rages about the monuments staring down at us from city centers: those that pay tribute to confederate leaders, slave owners, or other tarnished once-heroes.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 21 Nov. 2022
The holiday celebrates confederate soldiers such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.
—Mabinty Quarshie, USA TODAY, 15 June 2021
Early Thursday, the administration became aware of racist and confederate symbols of hate through a flag near a stairwell and defacing of a sidewalk, Principal David Travis said.
—Megan Jones, chicagotribune.com, 13 May 2021
As other cities have taken down monuments to confederate leaders, debate has arisen about what McKinney should do with the Throckmorton statue.
—Jon Arnold, Dallas News, 29 July 2020
By Tuesday morning, the cornerstone of the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument was removed, punctuating the city’s long legal fight to remove a monument dedicated to confederate veterans.
—al, 3 June 2020
Former Birmingham Mayor William Bell ordered a monument to confederate veterans covered in August 2017.
—Anna Beahm | Abeahm@al.com, al, 12 Feb. 2020
Should confederate monuments be preserved or destroyed?
—Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2017
The Warren County monument is one of four memorials to confederate soldiers in Ohio.
—Cincinnati.com, 22 Aug. 2017
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'confederate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English confederat, from Late Latin confoederatus, past participle of confoederare to unite by a league, from Latin com- + foeder-, foedus compact — more at federal
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1531, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of confederate was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near confederate
Cite this Entry
“Confederate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confederate. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
confederate
1 of 3 adjective
con·fed·er·ate
kən-ˈfed-(ə-)rət
1
: united in a league : allied
2
capitalized
: of or relating to the Confederate States of America
Confederate money
confederate
2 of 3 noun2
capitalized
: a soldier, citizen, or supporter of the Confederate States of America
confederate
3 of 3 verb
con·fed·er·ate
kən-ˈfed-ə-ˌrāt
confederated; confederating
: to unite in a confederacy
More from Merriam-Webster on confederate
Nglish: Translation of confederate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of confederate for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share