Adjective federal has 4 senses
- federal - national; especially in reference to the government of the United States as distinct from that of its member units; "the Federal Bureau of Investigation"; "federal courts"; "the federal highway program"; "federal property"
Antonym: local (indirect, via national)
- federal - of or relating to the central government of a federation; "a federal district is one set aside as the seat of the national government"
- Union, Federal - being of or having to do with the northern United States and those loyal to the Union during the Civil War; "Union soldiers"; "Federal forces"; "a Federal infantryman"
Antonym: southern (indirect, via northern)
- federal - characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities; "a federal system like that of the United States"; "federal governments often evolved out of confederatons"
Antonym: unitary
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Noun federal has 2 senses
- Federal, Federal soldier, Union soldier - a member of the Union Army during the American Civil War
--1 is a kind of Yankee, Yank, Northerner
- Federal, Fed, federal official - any federal law-enforcement officer
--2 is a kind of agent, federal agent
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