unfettered
adjective
Joshua MillerJonathan KeatesArthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.Walter Shapiro
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A fetter is a chain or shackle for the feet (such as the kind sometimes used on a prisoner), or, more broadly, anything that confines or restrains. Fetter and unfetter both function as verbs in English with contrasting literal meanings having to do with the putting on of and freeing from fetters; they likewise have contrasting figurative extensions having to do with the depriving and granting of freedom. The adjective unfettered resides mostly in the figurative, with the word typically describing someone or something unrestrained in progress or spirit. This is how Irish author James Joyce used the word in his 1916 autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man when the character of Cranly recalls to his best friend Stephen what he (Stephen) said he wishes to do in life: "To discover the mode of life or of art whereby your spirit could express itself in unfettered freedom."
Examples of unfettered in a Sentence
Alex Golden, Axios, 3 Apr. 2025
Both are at the rear of the home, have large windows that admit abundant natural light and give unfettered views of the beautiful yard.
—James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2025
On Thursday, the Trump administration also restored funding for Open Technology Fund, an independent nonprofit group that Congress has financed to ensure unfettered access to uncensored internet in countries with restrictions, according to court filings.
—Minho Kim, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
The mix of slower population growth and unfettered spending will also result in weaker economic growth over the next three decades than what the Congressional Budget Office projected last year.
—Arkansas Online, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfettered
Cite this Entry
“Unfettered.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unfettered. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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