1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

confederates 1 of 2

noun

plural of confederate
1
as in accomplices
one associated with another in wrongdoing the police were able to track down his confederates once the thief started talking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in supporters
someone associated with another to give assistance or moral support relied on her confederates in the medical community for support

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

confederates

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of confederate
as in cooperates
to form or enter into an association that furthers the interests of its members the nations confederated in order to lower international trade barriers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 confederates
Noun
Judge Nelson’s concerns are unfounded, as Kalshi and its confederates—Robinhood, Coinbase, and the CFTC—are not relying solely on the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act update to substantiate their claim that the CEA empowers the CFTC to regulate betting on the outcomes of sporting events. — Daniel Wallach, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026 Hynes died, but his three confederates have been subpoenaed to testify in my malicious prosecution lawsuit. — John O’Hara, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026 As the fallout continues, and fans question the filming and casting decisions of parent company Disney, Paul’s MomTok confederates are issuing statements and subtweets. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026 Players can enrich themselves and their confederates, at least until they’re caught. — David French, Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2025 Trump reverted back to the names honoring confederates. — Callum Sutherland, Time, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confederates
  1. accomplices
  2. supporters
  3. cooperates
  4. allies
  5. federates
  6. sympathizers
  7. unites
  8. collaborates
Noun
  • As Collin presents the French side of the Occupation, the Parisians are either victims, black-market opportunists, or accomplices of one sort or another.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Investigators allege Awais and his accomplices used their control of the associations to siphon money from accounts.
    — Chelsea Jones, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of accomplices
Noun
  • Few would begrudge Mohamed Salah his Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year prize for his 2024-25 season with Liverpool, but there are always reflected glories back to the club and its supporters.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • An Alabama woman accused of causing a deadly crash while driving a school bus experienced a medical crisis during the accident, her supporters reportedly said.
    — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of supporters
Verb
  • Cycling is another option when the coastal weather cooperates.
    — Sierra Vandervort, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2026
  • If the horizon is clear and the weather cooperates, these are the evenings to circle on your skywatching calendar.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of cooperates
Noun
  • Brown’s allies have called Husted the face of Ohio’s data center boom, blaming the massive facilities for contributing to rising electricity costs.
    — Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Their latest territorial gains cement the hold of Iran and its allies on the two waterways that the wider Gulf, including top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, relies on to ship its oil.
    — Khaled Wassef, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of allies
Verb
  • It will be won by organizations that consolidate and orchestrate with a vendor-neutral control plane that federates data, reasons across domains, governs agents as first-class citizens and connects to whatever the ecosystem looks like next quarter.
    — Shailesh Manjrekar, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
  • The exec brought up how Arte federates a network of 14 public broadcasters, has programs available in seven languages, and maintains strong ties with the creative ecosystem across Europe.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
Definition of federates
Noun
  • President John Adams, after losing his 1800 reëlection bid, used his lame-duck period to fill the judiciary with sympathizers.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Yet under the guidance of the shadowy Newin Chidchob, Bhumjaithai has gradually become a force in Thai politics and a crucial ally of the monarchy and its sympathizers.
    — Duncan McCargo, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of sympathizers
Verb
  • The Stoa conference joins a rich landscape of similar convenings, like Talking Galleries, which looks at the art market, and the Aspen Ideas Festival, which unites people from business, tech, media, public policy, and more.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Each year, Visit Sacramento’s Tower Bridge Dinner unites dozens of local chefs to showcase the area’s culinary talents before an exclusive crowd of a few hundred diners.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of unites
Verb
  • Chanel’s commission at Dib Bangkok is part of a larger initiative at the French brand, which collaborates with over 50 cultural institutions across 15 countries.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Yoga instruction is available year-round, and the resort also collaborates with yoga gurus specializing in yin yoga, immersive sound healing, and yoga nidra from October to April.
    — Jasreen Mayal Khanna, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of collaborates

Browse Nearby Words

confederated
confederates
confederating
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Confederates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confederates. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All