1
as in accomplice
one associated with another in wrongdoing
the police were able to track down his confederates once the thief started talking
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2
as in supporter
someone associated with another to give assistance or moral support
relied on her confederates in the medical community for support
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to cooperate
to form or enter into an association that furthers the interests of its members
the nations confederated in order to lower international trade barriers
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as in allied
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confederate
Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 16 July 2024
An article on Saturday about a school district in Virginia that voted to reinstate confederate names to several schools misstated the surname of a former member of the Shenandoah County school board.
—New York Times, 14 May 2024
Gregory Feifer, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2016
Yet, the real participants were surrounded by confederates, or actors, who deliberately gave incorrect answers.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Andrew R. Chow, Time, 21 Nov. 2022
The holiday celebrates confederate soldiers such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.
—Mabinty Quarshie, USA TODAY, 15 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for confederate
Noun
In 1865, he was appointed as the confederate secretary of war.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 16 July 2024
An article on Saturday about a school district in Virginia that voted to reinstate confederate names to several schools misstated the surname of a former member of the Shenandoah County school board.
—New York Times, 14 May 2024
Verb
Complicit supervisors who managed the scheme made certain to give a cut to their confederates in local government, who no doubt passed some of it to their Moscow protectors because the racket was apparently widespread in the city.
—Gregory Feifer, Foreign Affairs, 8 Aug. 2016
Yet, the real participants were surrounded by confederates, or actors, who deliberately gave incorrect answers.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
The Kinfolk app’s launch comes as fierce debate rages about the monuments staring down at us from city centers: those that pay tribute to confederate leaders, slave owners, or other tarnished once-heroes.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 21 Nov. 2022
The holiday celebrates confederate soldiers such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.
—Mabinty Quarshie, USA TODAY, 15 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for confederate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confederate
Noun
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Prosecutors described how the fraudulent salaries were routed through U.S.-based financial intermediaries and accomplices, eventually landing in accounts controlled by North Korean agents and, ultimately, the North Korean regime.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
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The main 19-year-old Austrian suspect was arrested ahead of the planned Eras Tour show on Aug. 7 alongside an alleged 17-year-old accomplice.—
Rachel Scharf,
Billboard,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Longoria has been a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party and endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 election.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
1 July 2025
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Senate rules preclude debate on an amendment during the marathon of votes, though they can be waived to allow an opponent and a supporter of an amendment to speak for 30 seconds – according to former Senate aide Keith Hennessey.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
30 June 2025
Verb
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The driver, identified only as a man, stopped at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
8 July 2025
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During daytime hours, when weather cooperates, the four giraffes spend much of their day together outside.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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Sure, sure, the 1981 movie was set in the future — one in which the United States was at war with an allied Soviet Union and China — so the script gets a pass for trying to slip this past us.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
10 July 2025
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The first batch of prisoners came following the Allied defeat of the General Erwin Rommel’s vaunted Afrika Korps in North Africa in May 1943.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
10 July 2025
Noun
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These advisors become invaluable allies when proposing big-swing initiatives or significant shifts in strategy.—
Lynn Godfrey,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
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Musk and Trump had been political allies in the run-up to and immediate aftermath of the 2024 election.—
Liam Quinn,
People.com,
7 July 2025
Verb
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But the urge to denigrate public education has become one of those odd obsessions that unite the nutty left and kooky right.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Release date: May 5, 2023 Cast: Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Sean Gunn For the final hoorah, the Guardians unite to defend the universe one last time in their biggest space mission yet.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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The 50-50 vote generally along partisan lines was tipped in Republicans' favor by Vice President JD Vance, who cast the decisive tiebreaker vote.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
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On this question, a significant partisan divide emerged.—
Brendan Rascius
July 3,
Miami Herald,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Collaborate Securely With Federated Learning Models Leverage federated learning to train machine learning models collaboratively across institutions without sharing raw data.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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Key steps include: Building A Robust Data Ecosystem Determining the optimal data ecosystem architecture, whether centralized or federated, involves balancing coordination with domain-specific needs, governance and scalability to maximize data value.—
Tina Chakrabarty,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confederate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confederate. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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