federal 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of federalnext
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

1
as in fed

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2
as in Confederate

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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
Should checks be killed off like the penny, which the federal government stopped minting in 2025, and the haypenny, which was worth half a cent and hasn’t been produced since 1857? — Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation, 24 July 2026 On the contrary, the federal government is moving to roll back key protections, such as a national standard under the Biden administration to protect drinking water from forever chemicals. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 24 July 2026 According to Newsweek, Arizona Representative Yassamin Ansari has called for a House investigation into the federal government’s handling of the case and has demanded that Barron provide testimony as part of the request. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 24 July 2026 Senators elected this November will be in office when America’s most popular federal program is on track to run out of money. — Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for federal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for federal
  1. national
  2. G-man
  3. GI
  4. governmental
  5. narc
  6. tracer
  7. plainclothesman
  8. tail
Adjective
  • Colleen Hughes, the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group’s beverage director, has earned national recognition from both the James Beard Foundation and the Michelin Guide for her cocktail program.
    — Evan Moore July 23, Charlotte Observer, 23 July 2026
  • Investigative genetic genealogy provides lead Investigators uploaded the DNA profile of the unknown woman into CODIS, the national law enforcement database, but couldn’t come up with a match.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026
Definition of national
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
Definition of G-man
Noun
  • Chan is co-founder of the Chinese American GI Project, which works to ensure that veteran legacies are not lost, forgotten or ignored.
    — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 19 July 2026
  • James Jarvaise was a California modernist, born in 1924 in the Midwest, served in the US Army, went to art school on the GI Bill, and is really the first generation of professional art teachers in America.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of GI
Adjective
  • That letter was a communication relating to a governmental proceeding and also was a lawful exercise of the Hus' free speech rights.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • Vidic was recently approached by reporters from the respected Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a non-governmental organisation that centres on investigative journalism.
    — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 17 July 2026
Definition of governmental
Noun
  • The team's 33-15 loss gave it a 2-11 record, which is the worst nark in the NFC.
    — Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
  • 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
Definition of narc
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
  • The flashbacks deliver some classic cat-and-mouse conspiracy-thriller action, as these two try to figure out who’s on their tail.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 24 July 2026
  • In the underwater video, an adult female orca is seen holding onto a dead sharp-tail sunfish that the group had previously killed.
    — Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 23 July 2026
Definition of tail

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Cite this Entry

“Federal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/federal. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of federal for Spanish Speakers

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