1
as in restrictions
something that limits one's freedom of action or choice
a time-honored tradition is fine as long as it doesn't become a fetter that prevents us from trying something new
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obstacles
something that makes movement or progress difficult
claims that government regulations are unnecessary fetters that keep him from achieving his business goals
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3
as in handcuffs
something that physically prevents free movement
considered a seat belt a pointless fetter—until one saved his life in an auto accident
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1
as in binds
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hinders
to create difficulty for the work or activity of
the belief that too many rules and restrictions fetter children's creativity
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fetters
Jeremy Mennis,
The Conversation,
1 May 2026
The short life of Alexander Hamilton both feeds and fetters Vaill’s project.
—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony.
—
Jeremy Mennis,
The Conversation,
1 May 2026
The short life of Alexander Hamilton both feeds and fetters Vaill’s project.
—
Jane Kamensky,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fetters
Noun
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Her remarks come amid mounting allegations that military restrictions slowed aid deliveries and prevented civilians—and in some cases rescue crews—from getting to critical areas during the early phase of the emergency.
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Connecticut The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) allows transgender student-athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity without restrictions.
Noun
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Crews can drive directly into rivers or lakes without installing additional equipment, allowing the vehicle to continue moving even when water obstacles stand in the way.
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Remember, your perspective shapes your reality—choose to see opportunities over obstacles.
Noun
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Once outside, paramedics determined that Martin had stopped breathing, removed his handcuffs and began CPR.
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The suspect was then placed in handcuffs and taken into custody.
Verb
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Making Connections And Mentoring Another thing going for region is the glue the binds much of it together - a thriving community of connectors and mentors based there offering programs to help early-stage deep tech startups scale up.
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Phytic acid binds directly to HDAC3 and turns on its activity.
Verb
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This systemic lack of dedicated time for preparation and collaboration undermines school improvement efforts, makes the teaching profession less attractive, and directly hinders high-quality instruction.
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This is due, in large part, to expectations of a strong El Niño, which traditionally hinders storm development.
Noun
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The trick is to find workloads that fit within those constraints or can be cleanly split across many small nodes.
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In a franchise system, innovation has to work for owners with real operating constraints.
Noun
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Ro said interactive chatbots have technological hurdles to overcome, such as a mismatch between their verbal comments and their facial expressions.
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Meanwhile, the technological and financial hurdles of fighting the sonic boom appeared insurmountable.
Noun
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Lotte Shopping revealed in a corporate filing on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed with Megabox parent company Contentree JoongAng to merge the two chains was terminated on June 30.
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The planned merger of Lotte Cinema and Megabox, South Korea’s second- and third-largest multiplex chains, has collapsed, ending a 14-month attempt to combine the two companies into the country’s biggest theatrical exhibitor.
Cite this Entry
“Fetters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fetters. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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