unfettered 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of unfetterednext
as in unleashed

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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
Newsom sought the reforms in a trailer bill to his budget package after declaring that the SIBTF was unfettered and out of control, without the safeguards of the traditional workers’ compensation system. — Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 16 July 2026 Now Eddie and Susie must decide whether to take action or risk losing it all, but unfettered ambition never ends well. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 9 July 2026 In the book, Leganski offers a rare, unfettered account of what goes into becoming speaker of the House, and takes digs at enemies. — Zak Hudak, CBS News, 19 June 2026 Except for the unfettered devotion in the latter is replaced by swooping strings and a gushy chorus that merely offer an antiseptic veneer. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unfettered
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfettered
  1. unleashed
  2. freed
  3. escaped
  4. liberated
  5. unchained
  6. released
  7. uncaged
  8. rescued
Adjective
  • The vibe is enveloping, the songs an easily digestible pastiche of pop splattered with hip-hop and the dancing pinpoint-perfect but loose when the Magnificent Seven are unleashed to showcase their personalities.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Apartment values appear to have faltered in Oakland, an economic erosion that has unleashed loan delinquencies and even foreclosures in a growing number of instances.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of unleashed
Verb
  • Those two freed a third person, who was only partially buried, and the three were able to dig out three other skiers.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Vlasova, who during her years in Russian detention had watched countless times as others were freed and she was left behind, wept.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of freed
Adjective
  • Video released by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office shows deputies finding 23-year-old Chase Orput lying shirtless on railroad tracks moments before taking the escaped inmate back into custody.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
  • Before the successful capture, the Galahad SPCA said it had been asked not to capture the escaped marsupial or otherwise intervene.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026
Definition of escaped
Verb
  • France had already been liberated, but Royan was said to be the site of a smattering of Third Reich dead-enders.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Indeed, by then, the hypnotic spell had been cast across all of Europe, including on those liberated from the drab tyrannies of actually existing socialism.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
Definition of liberated
Adjective
  • Often the raconteur side is too unchained.
    — Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 25 May 2026
  • Weisswange glanced around at the machines on either side of us, all of them waiting for repairs, their tracks unchained and gun barrels angled upward.
    — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of unchained
Verb
  • Along for the ride in pouches behind its mandibles are spores of a fungus that are released as the insect chews through the wood.
    — Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Inspector General Eliot Prescott released a 26-page report detailing the findings of his investigation into the death of 33-year-old Gamboy Guaranda at the New Haven Correctional Center on April 16.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of released
Adjective
  • When the urge strikes him, Sam’s uncaged anger leads him to do horrible things.
    — Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of uncaged
Verb
  • After spending years locked away in an isolated tower, Rapunzel is eventually rescued by the fugitive thief, Flynn Rider.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Zimbabwe’s disaster management agency has said 77 people were rescued.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of rescued

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unfetter
unfettered
unfettering
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Cite this Entry

“Unfettered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfettered. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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