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
-
Wirtz’s potency in the final third would attract attention and could free up Pep Guardiola’s talented front line.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
-
The men were freed after prosecutors agreed to vacate their convictions in 2014.—
Ryan Oehrli,
Charlotte Observer,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Audiences had to liberate a cadre of musicians from hypnosis and do so by concocting scenarios in which the club’s proprietor was continually forced to leave the room.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2025
-
Do what creatively liberates you, don’t cater to the data!—
Elias Leight,
Billboard,
6 May 2025
Verb
-
By the time Popeyes released its sandwich, chicken consumption outstripped that of beef.—
Ellen Cushing,
The Atlantic,
10 May 2025
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Spring was released on personal recognizance after a Worcester judge entered not guilty pleas on her behalf during an arraignment on Friday.—
Lance Reynolds,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2025
Verb
-
Sandra Oh and more, the new Smurfs will follow the residents of Smurf Village banding together to rescue Papa Smurf after he is captured by an evil wizard.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
16 May 2025
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The Browns may have an opportunity to rescue themselves from a similar abyss.—
Jeff Howe,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Verb
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The screws may loosen and allow engine oil to leak from the screw holes, according to the recall report.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
-
The idea here is that long hairs will get wrapped around the side brushes as per normal in their V formation, but then as the brushes come in toward that parallel configuration, the hair loosens and gets flung straight into the main vacuum.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 May 2025
Verb
-
Fox taught that the Inner Light emancipates a person from adherence to any creed, ecclesiastical authority or ritual forms.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 May 2025
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Juneteenth, which takes place on June 19, marks the day the last of the enslaved Americans learned they had been emancipated.—
Cheyanne M. Daniels,
The Hill,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unfetter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfetter. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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