adj. 1. Federal historical of the Northern States in the Civil War.
2. of, relating to, or denoting the central government of the United States.
3. also Federal favoring centralized government: the federal party.
4. having or relating to a system of government in which several states form a unity but remain independent in internal affairs: a federal Europe.
5. of, relating to, or denoting the central government as distinguished from the separate units constituting a federation: the federal agency that provides legal services to the poor.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
