Definition of federal
1
archaic
:of or relating to a compact or treaty
2 a
:formed by a compact between political units that surrender their individual sovereignty to a central authority but retain limited residuary powers of government
b
:of or constituting a form of government in which power is distributed between a central authority and a number of constituent territorial units
c
:of or relating to the central government of a federation as distinguished from the governments of the constituent units
3
capitalized
:advocating or friendly to the principle of a federal government with strong centralized powers;
especially
:of or relating to the American Federalists
4
often capitalized
:of, relating to, or loyal to the federal government or the Union armies of the U.S. in the American Civil War
5
capitalized
:being or belonging to a style of architecture and decoration current in the U.S. following the American Revolution
