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View synonyms for fetter

fetter

[ fet-er ]

noun

  1. a chain or shackle placed on the feet.
  2. Usually fetters. anything that confines or restrains:

    Boredom puts fetters upon the imagination.



verb (used with object)

  1. to put fetters upon.
  2. to confine; restrain.

fetter

/ ˈfɛtə /

noun

  1. often plural a chain or bond fastened round the ankle; shackle
  2. usually plural a check or restraint

    in fetters

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to restrict or confine
  2. to bind in fetters
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈfetterless, adjective
  • ˈfetterer, noun
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Other Words From

  • fetter·er noun
  • fetter·less adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fetter1

before 900; Middle English, Old English feter; cognate with Old High German fezzera, Old Norse fjǫturr; akin to foot
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Word History and Origins

Origin of fetter1

Old English fetor ; related to Old Norse fjöturr fetter, Old High German fezzera , Latin pedica fetter, impedīre to hinder
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Example Sentences

And which, to maintain “fetters on the limbs of the blacks” proposes “to padlock the lips of the whites.”

From Salon

In lengthy posts on Chinese chat application WeChat, the art gallery expounds at length on the beauty rendered by North Korean artists because they are free from the fetters of the “market economy.”

"I just couldn't break away from the fetters."

From Reuters

She meets a ragtag group of compatriots who offer what aid they can as she navigates carnival prisons, fiery foes and the confusing fetters of the human form.

From Salon

Her mouth went dry as Fedu’s fingers fettered her wrists, no different from the ropes that had once bound her hands, but she resisted the urge to wince.

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fetoscopyfetter bone