FEDERAL Synonyms: 78 Similar and Opposite Words

federal 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of federal

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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Federal

2 of 2

noun

as in fed

Related Words

as in Confederate

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

civilian

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

Adjective

Likely voters expressed middling support for Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaires’ assets intended to compensate for an impending $100 billion in federal healthcare funding cuts. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026 An influx of federal money could help Kuna check the most expensive item off of its transit wishlist — and prime the Treasure Valley boomtown for further growth south of its city center. — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 25 Sep. 2026 Only about 4% of of federal cancer research funds go toward finding cures for childhood cancer. — Gerry Smith, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026 In March, a federal judge said Kennedy likely violated federal procedures, stopped Kennedy’s panel from holding further meetings and suspended Kennedy’s decision to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children. — Mike Stobbe, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for federal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for federal

Adjective

Zardari said eliminating militants was essential to national security.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
The 1969 Bison bunch went 10-0 and was named small-college national champion, and the ‘70 group went 9-0-1.

— Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of national

Noun

Peaches generally have a lower glycemic index (GI), while watermelon contains fewer carbohydrates per cup.

— Christopher Bergland, Verywell Health, 18 Sep. 2026
Boston Children's was also top-ranked in the area of neonatology, pediatric gastroenterology & GI Surgery, pediatric nephrology, pediatric neurology & neurosurgery, pediatric pulmonology & lung surgery and pediatric urology.

— Neal Riley, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of GI

Adjective

The governmental scrutiny and the sudden sales of the Lakers and Chelsea have yielded speculation as to whether any of Walter’s other sports assets were on the block.

— Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 23 Sep. 2026
No member of any government or governmental entity can be appointed to the board, and no government or governmental entity (either federal, state or local) can have approval rights over who is appointed to the board.

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of governmental

Noun

This imaging test uses a tracer that attaches to PSMA proteins, allowing doctors to identify where prostate cancer cells may be located throughout the body.

— Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 15 June 2026
Many health care workers served longer, harder deployments than mine — Sierra Leonean nurses, Guinean contact tracers, Liberian community health workers — and carried equal or greater burdens, yet Americans rarely heard their stories.

— Krutika Kuppalli, STAT, 20 May 2026

Definition of tracer

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

Definition of plainclothesman

Noun

By the time the first cells that are committed to develop into neurons show up, the vertebrate embryo already knows its head from its tail, and its back from its belly.

— JOHN TIMMER, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026
In the late nineties, nearly all our revenue was from software license sales and maintenance—large payments up front and a predictable renewal tail.

— Amir Wain, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of tail

Browse Nearby Words

fed

federal

Federal

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Federal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/federal. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of federal

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fungible

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes