CONFEDERATION

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does confederation mean? 

• CONFEDERATION (noun)
  The noun CONFEDERATION has 3 senses:

1. the state of being allied or confederated

2. a union of political organizations

3. the act of forming an alliance or confederation

  Familiarity information: CONFEDERATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONFEDERATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being allied or confederated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

alliance; confederation

Hypernyms ("confederation" is a kind of...):

coalition; fusion (the state of being combined into one body)

Derivation:

confederate (form a confederation with; of nations)

confederate (form a group or unite)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A union of political organizations

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

confederacy; confederation; federation

Hypernyms ("confederation" is a kind of...):

union (a political unit formed from previously independent people or organizations)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confederation"):

nation (a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes))

Creek Confederacy (a North American Indian confederacy organized by the Muskogee that dominated the southeastern part of the United States before being removed to Oklahoma)

Hanseatic League (a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas; formed in 1241 and most influential in the 14th century when it included over 100 towns and functioned as an independent political power; the last official assembly was held in 1669)

Derivation:

confederate (form a group or unite)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of forming an alliance or confederation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

alliance; confederation

Hypernyms ("confederation" is a kind of...):

group action (action taken by a group of people)

Derivation:

confederate (form a confederation with; of nations)

confederate (form a group or unite)

 Context examples 

EXAMPLE(S): A group of cancer centers with outreach clinics forming a loose confederation for research purposes.

(Cooperative Group Member, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)