UNFETTERED Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

unfettered 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of unfettered

as in unleashed

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

unfettered

2 of 2

verb

past tense of unfetter

as in freed

to set free (as from slavery or confinement) authorities eventually unfettered the menagerie of wild animals that had been kept illegally as pets

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of unfettered

Adjective

Anyone who wants to watch, from the press to advocates to families to just causal observers, must have that unfettered ability. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026 But the Knights didn’t take long to respond in the second half, as Watson took a handoff and raced 64 yards unfettered for his second touchdown of the game, giving UCF a 27-24 lead eight seconds into the third quarter. — Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026 And last Sunday, in these pages, Coulter lamented losing his unfettered discretion on where to shelve books. — Robert Steinbuch, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026 So why exactly is Trump demanding this unfettered charge at oblivion, and what are the options for putting guardrails up despite him? — Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unfettered

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfettered

Adjective

But what advocates hailed as a vehicle for democratic governance also has unleashed attack ads, seven-figure war chests and hardball politics.

— Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
News of a high advance unleashed correspondingly high expectations.

— Malcolm Forbes, Christian Science Monitor, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of unleashed

Verb

The amateur is freed from the pressures of exhibition and sale, but that might just as easily breed bitterness as happiness.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
Cohen escaped to the United States in 1994; Sarraff was arrested in 1995 and spent nearly 20 years in a Cuban prison before being freed in a 2014 prisoner swap.

— Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of freed

Adjective

Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls in multiple states in the 1970s, and many more escaped or survived with injuries.

— CBS News, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
But these stats reflect firefighting progress at this stage rather than an escaped blaze, the department's public affairs officer Tiffany Davilla explained.

— Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of escaped

Verb

Ukraine has liberated 107 square miles in the operation that started in the summer, Ukraine's Third Army Corps commander Brig.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Sivan’s previous record, Something to Give Each Other, was a breakthrough that liberated him from the YA preciousness of his early career.

— Harry Tafoya, Pitchfork, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of liberated

Adjective

Advertisement Artificial is a story of unchained ambitions and betrayals, with its Altman an unqualified villain.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
There is a minute’s ovation for Keegan, who was chief operations officer and then manager at Craven Cottage in the late 1990s, there is an unchained melody of bedlam, the creation of chaos and there are a lot of c***s.

— George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of unchained

Verb

For the tinkering types, Meta also released open weights for Muse’s code to help people connect it to a range of other devices.

— Marty Swant, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
Although officials have not released details about the cause of death, scientists agree that if it was caused by ordinary plague, the wider world has little to worry about.

— Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of released

Browse Nearby Words

unfetter

unfettered

unfettering

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Unfettered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfettered. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of unfettered

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

satiate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes