feudal
adjective
feu·dal ˈfyü-dᵊl 
1
: of, relating to, or suggestive of feudalism
feudal law
a feudal lord
2
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a medieval fee (see fee entry 1 sense 1)
feudal rights and services
feudally
ˈfyü-dᵊl-ē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web It was reborn as something not capitalist at all, but rather something neo-medieval, something feudal. 
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2022 The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned that Lupin star Omar Sy will play the real-life legend, an African man brought to feudal Japan under enslavement who became the country’s first non-Japanese samurai, in a new live-action series. Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2022 In much of rural South Africa, the Black population remains trapped in a near-feudal system, relegated to shacks with limited access to electricity and running water, and working for a pittance on the estates of white commercial farmers. Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022 Under a stone archway nearby, the faithful were kneeling like feudal penitents before a timeworn statue of the Madonna and flickering candles. Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Aug. 2022 Looking forward, this would provide Beijing with the political capital and space to displace the U.S.-led democratic order with its own feudal mercantilist order. Tom Rogan, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 One week ago, SoftBank reported a record $23 billion quarterly loss, which Son compared to a humiliating rout by a feudal lord. Min Jeong Lee, Bloomberg.com, 16 Aug. 2022 Dream’s seriousness, his feudal formality and his inability to make or even get a joke, practically demand that the story be leavened with humor. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2022 Pushkin was born in 1799 to an aristocratic family that could trace its lineage all the way to the twelfth century and the boyars of feudal Russia. Jennifer Wilson, The New York Review of Books, 3 Aug. 2022 See More
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2022 The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned that Lupin star Omar Sy will play the real-life legend, an African man brought to feudal Japan under enslavement who became the country’s first non-Japanese samurai, in a new live-action series. Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2022 In much of rural South Africa, the Black population remains trapped in a near-feudal system, relegated to shacks with limited access to electricity and running water, and working for a pittance on the estates of white commercial farmers. Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022 Under a stone archway nearby, the faithful were kneeling like feudal penitents before a timeworn statue of the Madonna and flickering candles. Tony Perrottet, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Aug. 2022 Looking forward, this would provide Beijing with the political capital and space to displace the U.S.-led democratic order with its own feudal mercantilist order. Tom Rogan, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 One week ago, SoftBank reported a record $23 billion quarterly loss, which Son compared to a humiliating rout by a feudal lord. Min Jeong Lee, Bloomberg.com, 16 Aug. 2022 Dream’s seriousness, his feudal formality and his inability to make or even get a joke, practically demand that the story be leavened with humor. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2022 Pushkin was born in 1799 to an aristocratic family that could trace its lineage all the way to the twelfth century and the boyars of feudal Russia. Jennifer Wilson, The New York Review of Books, 3 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
see feud entry 2
First Known Use
1602, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Phrases Containing feudal
Kids Definition
feudal
adjective
feu·dal ˈfyü-dᵊl
: relating to feudalism