confederation: Meaning and Definition of

con•fed•er•a•tion

1. the act of confederating.
2. the state of being confederated.
3. a league or alliance.
4. a group of confederates, esp. of states more or less permanently united for common purposes.
5. the union of the 13 original U.S. states under the Articles of Confederation 1781–89.
6. (cap.) the federation of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, formed in 1867 and constituting the Dominion of Canada.