federalize

verb

fed·​er·​al·​ize ˈfe-d(ə-)rə-ˌlīz 

federalized; federalizing

transitive verb

1

: to unite in or under a federal system

2

: to bring under the jurisdiction of a federal government

Examples of federalize in a Sentence

The measure federalizes several state programs.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hegeth initially federalized roughly 4,000 California Guardsmen. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025

That is the reason Trump has given for federalizing troops—to crack down on rising crime rates. —Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the local police force and sent in National Guard troops. —Arkansas Online, 28 Nov. 2025

The Supreme Court is now weighing the deployment, including the 300 Illinois National Guard troops that Trump previously federalized but that a lower court ruled could not be deployed to Chicago. —Zach Lachance, The Washington Examiner, 22 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for federalize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

federalize

verb

fed·​er·​al·​ize ˈfed-(ə-)rə-ˌlīz 

federalized; federalizing

: to unite in or under a federal system of authority

federalization

ˌfed-(ə-)rə-lə-ˈzā-shən

noun