unfettered 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of unfetterednext
as in unleashed

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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 slump in office leasing also unleashed waves of slumping values, failed property loans and even foreclosures of delinquent mortgages.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • The 24-year-old Italian hung in with his serve and his scrambling as Zverev unleashed wave after wave of unreturned serves and laser forehands, before clicking into gear to come from a set down and lift the trophy again, 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 July 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
  • 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
  • He was born in western Ukraine and attended a military school in Kharkiv – the city liberated by Ukrainian forces in 2022 after a brutal Russian occupation early in the war.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 21 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
  • Meghan personally called animal rights attorney Shannon Keith, who runs the Beagle Freedom Project, after hearing about 4,000 beagles being rescued from overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at the Envigo breeding and research plant in Virginia.
    — Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Twelve people were rescued, and divers later located the woman and the infant in the water, police said.
    — Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of rescued

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unfettered
unfettering
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Cite this Entry

“Unfettered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfettered. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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