confederation vs federation

confederation and federation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
confederation	Yes	No	No	No
federation	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, confederation and federation are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of confederation include confederacy.

confederation (noun)	federation (noun)
the act of forming an alliance or confederation	the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate states or colonies or provinces so that each member retains the management of its internal affairs
a union of political organizations	a union of political organizations
the state of being allied or confederated	an organization formed by merging several groups or parties