feudal

adjective

feu·​dal ˈfyü-dᵊl 

1

: of, relating to, or suggestive of feudalism

feudal law

a feudal lord

2

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a medieval fee (see fee entry 1 sense 1)

feudal rights and services

feudally

ˈfyü-dᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of feudal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Beaumarchais’s Le Mariage de Figaro (1778) sounded the death knell of the feudal droit du seigneur. — Simon Callow, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026

In a feudal era when the king simultaneously led church and state and the common people were known as ‘serfs’ and were effectively owned by their local lords, rebellion was unheard of. — Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026

The honeypot sites of royal Rajasthan—spliced by the brown slopes of the Aravalli Range, the state emerged after Partition from a mosaic of 22 feudal kingdoms—are so many people’s taster to India. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026

Originally conceived in 1997 as a Resident Evil game set in feudal Japan, the first entry in the samurai action adventure series was released early in the PlayStation 2’s life cycle. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see feud entry 2

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing feudal

• pre-feudal

Rhymes for feudal

• boodle
• doodle
• noodle
• poodle

Kids Definition

feudal

adjective

feu·​dal ˈfyüd-ᵊl 

: of or relating to feudalism

feudally adverb