confederation
/kənfɛdəˈɹeɪʃən/noun
confederation is spelled C-O-N-F-E-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, confederation means “A union or alliance of states or political organizations” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of confederation is confederations.
How many letters and syllables are in confederation?
| Letters | 13: C-O-N-F-E-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is confederation?
Confederation appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce confederation?
- /kənfɛdəˈɹeɪʃən/
Confederation has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-confederation.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of confederation
- confederations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does confederation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A union or alliance of states or political organizations.
- 2
The act of forming an alliance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate confederation?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of confederation: Confed'n.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Confederation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense union or alliance:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | confédération |
| German | Bund, Bündnis, Konföderation, Eidgenossenschaft, Staatenbund, Staatenbündnis |
| Portuguese | confederação |
| Spanish | confederación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does confederation come from?
From Middle English confederacion, confideracion and Middle French confédération, from Old French confederacion, from Latin cōnfoederātiō. Doublet of confederacy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).