1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fettering

verb

present participle of fetter
1
as in binding
to confine or restrain with or as if with chains museum artifacts that serve as somber reminders of the days when slaves were fettered with irons

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impeding
to create difficulty for the work or activity of the belief that too many rules and restrictions fetter children's creativity

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fettering
  1. binding
  2. impeding
  3. tying
  4. hampering
  5. confining
  6. hindering
  7. constraining
  8. obstructing
Verb
  • When making a round arrangement, Godshalk emphasizes the importance of each stem emerging from a single binding point.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The report, while not binding, adds to international evidence gathered about crimes in the war in Iran, and could eventually be used in efforts to reach justice in international courts.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of binding
Verb
  • In addition, casualties are disproportionately concentrated in rural areas, and the lack of fuel is impeding the harvest.
    — Regina Smyth, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Materials such as Nafion can densely surround catalysts at the nanoscale, impeding the rapid transport of protons to reaction sites.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of impeding
Verb
  • The Royals left the tying run stranded on second base as Pirates closer Mason Montgomery retired Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia and Loftin to end a late threat.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Three times the Giants rallied to tie the game only to see the Dodgers retake the lead, highlighted by Victor Bericoto's game-tying, 425-foot two-run homer in the third.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of tying
Verb
  • Davis was unable to hear my questions, which required me to hold them up to the screen, hampering back-and-forth response.
    — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Birds visiting the feeder can get the goo on their wings, hampering their ability to fly and possibly leading to their untimely deaths.
    — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of hampering
Verb
  • If youth teams practiced like the pros, confining full contact to once a week, impacts could fall by more than half, Daneshvar says.
    — Alexandra Pattillo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2026
  • In December 2025, non-profit Amnesty International wrote in a report that confining men in small cages exposed to the elements could constitute torture under international law.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of confining
Verb
  • However, in a person with PCD, those threadlike structures can beat abnormally, hindering airway clearance and contributing to recurrent respiratory infections.
    — Molly Finlay, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The motion helpfully offers an example of how a hindering information document could have been properly written.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of hindering
Verb
  • The drug stops the virus from multiplying in the body, effectively constraining its severity.
    — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Done well, pricing and packaging can improve margins without reducing service quality or constraining growth.
    — Basant Singh, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of constraining
Verb
  • None of this means obstructing staff, entering restricted areas, or secretly recording conversations.
    — Matthew Kayser, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
  • He was charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and resisting an officer without violence.
    — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of obstructing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

fettered
fettering
fetters
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fettering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fettering. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tactile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All