as in to free
to set free (as from slavery or confinement)
authorities eventually unfettered the menagerie of wild animals that had been kept illegally as pets
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Recent Examples of unfetter
As spring ends, maple trees begin to unfetter winged seeds that flutter and swirl from branches to land gently on the ground.
—
Nikk Ogasa, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2021
His long run in office, however, delivered only partial victories on his two primary ambitions: to unfetter Japan’s military after decades of postwar pacifism and to jump-start and overhaul its economy through a program known as Abenomics.
—New York Times, 8 July 2022
The Safdies are pointedly effective in capturing the way in which a chaotic city’s overall rhythm goes on unfettered even as a character experiences a horrific disruption or glitch in one small part of it.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2019
By manufacturing satellite components in space, Made In Space hopes to unfetter some of those launch constraints.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2019
By manufacturing satellite components in space, the company hopes to unfetter some of those launch constraints.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 29 July 2019
Unfettered by worries about his relationship, Caldwell thrived.
—Jason Blevins, The Denver Post, 18 May 2017
Nikk Ogasa, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2021
His long run in office, however, delivered only partial victories on his two primary ambitions: to unfetter Japan’s military after decades of postwar pacifism and to jump-start and overhaul its economy through a program known as Abenomics.
—New York Times, 8 July 2022
The Safdies are pointedly effective in capturing the way in which a chaotic city’s overall rhythm goes on unfettered even as a character experiences a horrific disruption or glitch in one small part of it.
—Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 15 Dec. 2019
By manufacturing satellite components in space, Made In Space hopes to unfetter some of those launch constraints.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2019
By manufacturing satellite components in space, the company hopes to unfetter some of those launch constraints.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 29 July 2019
Unfettered by worries about his relationship, Caldwell thrived.
—Jason Blevins, The Denver Post, 18 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfetter
Verb
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In the month following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack and Hamas's seizing of hundreds of Israeli hostages, Francis had prayed they would soon be freed and called for dialogue.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
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Four months into his second term, the sprint is on: SAB 121 is gone, freeing banks from punitive capital rules on digital‑asset custody; April’s bill scrapped the nightmare cost‑basis paperwork for DeFi; and the DOJ has shuttered its crypto task force, vowing to chase scammers, not software.—
Crypto Confidential,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Another endangered fish, northern tidewater gobies, were rescued from the same watershed shortly before the steelhead were liberated.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
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Just as my ancient and modern ancestors found freedom from oppression, so can each of us be liberated from today’s challenges by crafting a future built on deeds of lovingkindness.—
Maria Zimina,
New York Daily News,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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August reservations will be released on July 1 and so on.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
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No other information about the incident was released.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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To protect a batch of sea turtle eggs from possible poachers, the group rescued them and hatched them in a lab before releasing 100 baby sea turtles into the ocean.—
Terry Baddoo,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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Then: Joel rescued her, just in the nick of time, and offered her a horse ride with him and Dina — but to where?—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Compliance Gets Hyperlocal There is a tendency when reading headlines about sweeping changes to major regulatory initiatives to look only at the top-line effects — federal regulation is loosening — and the assumption that this will make compliance less burdensome.—
Mary Foley,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Idaho’s 1-to-6 ratio for infants remains in place, but the ratios were loosened for all older children.—
Rachel Cohen,
Vox,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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And many Virginians who owned enslaved people were terrified that the British were going to emancipate their enslaved labor.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 Apr. 2025
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Jefferson later maintained that any decision to emancipate slaves must be part of a democratic process and not handed down by, say, executive order.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unfetter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfetter. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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