federal

/ˈfɛdəɹəl/

//ˈfɛdəɹəl// adj

"federal" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“federal” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #768. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#768
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations.

Corpus desk

Index EN-federal · federal · English

federal · rank #768 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #768
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fast

Nearest frequency peer: fast (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “federal”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “federal” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

federal vs feral
71% similar
federal vs fedora
71% similar
federal vs funeral
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for federal
PropertyValue
Headwordfederal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɛdəɹəl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#768
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “federal”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).federallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “fast” (#767), “feeling” (#769), “fall” (#766). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “federal” is #768. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around federal (IPA /ˈfɛdəɹəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #768 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for federal, with forms such as "efderal", "fdeeral", and "fedderal". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "feral", "fedora", "funeral", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French fédéral, from Latin stem foeder- of foedus (“covenant, league, treaty, alliance”). The correct English form is federal, spelled F-E-D-E-R-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations.
  2. 2
    Pertaining to the national government level in a federal nation, as opposed to state, provincial, county, city, or town.
  3. 3
    Relating to covenantalism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how federal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Yet the Romans, taking them [the Carthaginians] at an Advantage, vvhen they vvere in Streights; compell'd them, contrary to all Fœderal Right and Juſtice, by Nevv Articles, both to part with Sardinia, their Lavvful Territory, and alſo to pay them for the future, a Double Tribute.
  2. That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government as resulting from the compact to which the states are parties, as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting that compact, as no further valid than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; [...]

Etymology

From French fédéral, from Latin stem foeder- of foedus (“covenant, league, treaty, alliance”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efderal
  • fdeeral
  • fedderal
  • fedearl
  • federall
  • federla
  • federral
  • fedreal
  • feedral
  • ffederal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of federal - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

efderal2fdeeral2fedderal1fedearl2federall1federla2federral1fedreal2
Edit distance from "federal"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "federal"?
"federal" is spelled F-E-D-E-R-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɛdəɹəl/.
What does "federal" mean?
As an adjective, "federal" means: Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations.
What words are commonly confused with "federal"?
"federal" is commonly confused with "feral", "fedora", "funeral". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "federal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "federal" is /ˈfɛdəɹəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "federal"?
From French fédéral, from Latin stem foeder- of foedus (“covenant, league, treaty, alliance”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "federal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list