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Meaning & use

feudal

adjective·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈfjuːdl/
US/ˈfjuːdl/

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a nountechnical

    Relating to the medieval system in which lords gave land to people in return for loyalty, work and military service.

    Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a feudal lord, the feudal system.

    Patterns

    • the feudal system
    • a feudal lord

    Under the feudal system, peasants worked the land for their lord.

    A feudal lord could demand soldiers from the men who farmed his land.

    The castle was built in feudal times to protect the nearby village.

  2. adjectivecomparabledisapprovingfigurative

    Describing a society or organization in which a few powerful people control everyone else in an outdated, unfair way.

    Grammar: Used figuratively and critically; can follow be: the workplace felt almost feudal.

    Patterns

    • a feudal attitude to something
    • feudal working conditions

    Workers complained about the company's feudal attitude to staff.

    The old bosses ran the office in a feudal way.

    Some critics call the hierarchy at the club feudal.

Word forms

comparativemore feudal
superlativemost feudal

Common combinations

feudal system
The feudal system gave kings power over landowners.
feudal lord
The feudal lord owned the village and its mill.
feudal society
In a feudal society, birth decided your place in life.
feudal Japan
Samurai served their lords in feudal Japan.
feudal structure
The company still has a feudal structure of bosses and subordinates.

Synonyms and how they differ

medieval
Medieval refers to the Middle Ages in general, while feudal refers specifically to the land-and-loyalty system.
hierarchical
Hierarchical describes any ranked structure and is neutral, whereas feudal is harsher and suggests unfair dominance.
manorial
Manorial relates to the manor, the lord's estate, and is narrower than feudal.
archaic
Archaic only says something is old-fashioned and does not imply any lord-and-servant structure.

Opposites

democraticegalitarian

Word family

feudalism noun
the medieval system of lords and vassals
feudalist noun
a supporter of or expert on feudalism
feudally adverb
in a feudal manner
feud noun
a long quarrel between groups, which is a different word from fief

Commonly confused: feudal or futile? feudal or feud?

feudal vs futile

Futile means pointless and is a different word with a similar sound.

feudal vs feud

A feud is a long-running quarrel, and the word is not related in meaning to the feudal system.

Practice

In the ___ system of medieval Europe, peasants farmed a lord's land in return for protection.

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