What does "federal state" mean?

A sovereign state that is a federation.

Federal state

Common synonyms include: brandenburg, canada, cantons, constitutional federation, czechoslovakia, federal nation.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A sovereign state that is a federation.
"Near-synonyms: federation (usually synonymous); see also Thesaurus:federal country"
2
A nonsovereign state that is part of a federation, especially part of Germany or Austria.
"Ceará is one of the federal states of Brazil and is located in the semi-arid northeast."

"Near-synonyms: federation (usually synonymous); see also Thesaurus:federal country"