Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To free from fetters or other physical bonds.
  • transitive verb To free from restraints or inhibitions.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To loose from fetters; unchain; unshackle; remove the fetters from.
  • To free from restraint; set at liberty: as, to unfetter the mind.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To loose from fetters or from restraint; to unchain; to unshackle; to liberate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To release from fetters; to unchain; to let loose; to free.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ fetter.

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Examples

  • These kinds of centers, things like Yemen where they can kind of unfetter try and experiment with these kinds of things and obtain the chemicals that they need, these are important hubs of terror that aid them in trying to get these kinds of liquids on an airplane.

    CNN Transcript Dec 25, 2009 2009

  • In part, it's through feel-good news pictures papering over the disconnect between gestures of austerity, displays of simplicity, and a radical agenda to unfetter the corporate state to a stunning degree.

    Michael Shaw: Reading the Pictures: GOP '11: Corporate Stalking Horses Disguised as "Average Joes" Michael Shaw 2011

  • He opined that deregulation of business would unfetter the natural entrepreneurial heroes of capitalism to create vast wealth and it would trickle down to the public, if we de-unionized too.

    Stephen Herrington: The State of the Union Is: Appalling Stephen Herrington 2011

  • If you ask me to fight under the old rules, son of Hellscream, then know that you have done nothing but unfetter my hands.

    The Shattering Christie Golden 2010

  • Because, in my opinion, nescient arm-chair security analysts with an axe to grind sure as hell shouldn't be able to declassify thousands of government documents and unfetter them into cyberspace.

    Michael Hughes: WikiStan: Do We Want Julian Assange on That Wall? 2010

  • When you unfetter corporate entities, when you have unfettered capitalism, everything is turned into a commodity, human labor as well as the natural world, and they are both exploited until exhaustion or collapse.

    Hedges Laments The 'Death Of The Liberal Class' 2010

  • Because, in my opinion, nescient arm-chair security analysts with an axe to grind sure as hell shouldn't be able to declassify thousands of government documents and unfetter them into cyberspace.

    Michael Hughes: WikiStan: Do We Want Julian Assange on That Wall? 2010

  • Aviation officials are hoping that the episode will persuade governments to help or at least unfetter their battered sector.

    Burning Issues 2010

  • If you ask me to fight under the old rules, son of Hellscream, then know that you have done nothing but unfetter my hands.

    The Shattering Christie Golden 2010

  • Instead of saving it for the book, how about future author Biden unfetter his conscience in real time -- when it can actually do some good?

    Arianna Huffington: Why Joe Biden Should Resign 2009

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