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
  • The binding document has only a few boxes to check and blanks to fill in.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Then, federal mediators would get involved, and binding arbitration could force a contract on a business and its workers.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of binding
Verb
  • There’s also a 24-hour gym, a light and airy place with multiple cardio machines, weight training equipment, and floor space for yoga, stretching, or floor exercises (and enough room to do so without impeding on anyone else’s space).
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Garces Perez faces one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer.
    — Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of impeding
Verb
  • Trump is leaning into transactional politics by tying his administration directly to economic benefits in states that could determine control of Congress.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Other fans criticized Clark for celebrating at a concert only hours after missing a potential game-tying shot in Indiana’s loss.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of tying
Verb
  • Political uncertainty is hampering business investment, France’s biggest business group has warned, while anxious consumers are holding off on purchases.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Front-line workers have gone on strike several times since the outbreak began, further hampering efforts to contain the disease.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 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
  • Bonner was charged last week with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and hindering or interfering with police.
    — Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Robinson, 59, of Churchill, Pennsylvania, is the managing attorney at a Pittsburgh law firm, and has been charged with felony tampering and hindering apprehension for trying to conceal evidence.
    — Mike Darnay, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of hindering
Verb
  • The conflict in the Middle East has choked oil flows from the region, constraining global supply.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The drug stops the virus from multiplying in the body, effectively constraining its severity.
    — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of constraining
Verb
  • The vehicle was stopped for a few minutes perpendicular to a snowy residential Minneapolis street, obstructing the flow of traffic.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Collaboration means different interests working through disagreements to find common ground – not obstructing progress in court while forests burn.
    — Chris Edwards, Washington Post, 27 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 11 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of galore

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

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
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All