federal 1 of 2

as in national
of or relating to a federation or to its central government A federal system of government distributes power between a country's central and regional governments. The President, Congress, and the Supreme Court are all part of the federal government of the United States.

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Federal

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Federal
Noun
Earlier Friday, federal agents arrested more than a dozen protesters outside an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025 Neighbor Eboni Watson, who witnessed the raid, also told the ABC station that the children were zip-tied—some of them were without clothes—when they were taken out of the residential building by federal agents. Rebecca Schneid, Time, 4 Oct. 2025 Democrats are continuing to use their leverage in the federal-funding process to confront Republicans. The Editors, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2025 Earlier the Democratic governor condemned a sweeping overnight raid carried out by federal authorities at a Chicago apartment building earlier this week. Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for Federal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Federal
Adjective
  • Messi is unlikely to take part due to his call-up to Argentina’s national team, which plays a day earlier vs Venezuela at Hard Rock Stadium.
    Franco Panizo, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The Tennessean is part of the USA TODAY Network, the largest local-to-national publishing and digital media organization in the country.
    Nashville Tennessean, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • To make matters worse, oil companies still benefit from governmental support, with subsidies totaling $7 trillion in 2022 according to the International Monetary Fund.
    Miguel A. Torres, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Republican Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz piped up in defense of Kimmel’s right to free speech without governmental interference.
    Sarah Stankorb, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Now the G-men head down there to collar Massachusetts cops — sheriffs and crooked state troopers.
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Exactly what will happen to DC’s most polarizing building after the G-men move out is still not clear, although President Trump has suggested the FBI will eventually return.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 19 July 2025
Noun
  • Call centers on the VA’s GI Bill and National Cemetery Applicant Assistance hotlines will be closed.
    David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025
  • The 24-hour Veterans Crisis Line would still work and VA hospitals would remain open, but other services would halt temporarily, including the GI Bill Hotline, VA benefits regional offices and some others.
    Filip Timotija, The Hill, 27 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • You’re automatically dubbed a narc, a kiss-ass, a too-cool.
    Brandi California, SPIN, 1 July 2024
  • The software, which would effectively act like a narc embedded on people’s iPhones, could have unintended consequences, critics said, despite Apple’s assurances that it would be used solely to stop child predators.
    Declan Harty, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2021
Noun
  • The imaging technique relies on the use of a radioactive tracer and a special camera to make pictures of breast tissue.
    Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Bradley had previously held a temporary position with the county as a contact tracer during the pandemic.
    Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Less than a month later, plainclothesmen arrested Nassar at a local tire store, and Munford took him into custody.
    Jason Schmidt, Glamour, 30 Oct. 2018
  • Hustling bucks and ducking the Third Division boys, those earnest young plainclothesmen assigned to the vice squad who work out of the 17th Precinct on the East Side.
    Gail Sheehy, Daily Intelligencer, 9 Sep. 2017
Noun
  • Soros, who has long been a funder of the Democratic Party, donated $125 million to one liberal super PAC in 2021, according to campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.
    Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025
  • To stay up to date on the peak weeks to see fall colors in each area, check American Forests' foliage tracker.
    Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Federal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Federal. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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