fetter

fetter
[[t]fe̱tə(r)[/t]]
fetters, fettering, fettered
1) VERB (disapproval) If you say that you are fettered by something, you dislike it because it prevents you from behaving or moving in a free and natural way. [LITERARY]

[be V-ed] ...a private trust which would not be fettered by bureaucracy...

[V n] The black mud fettered her movements.

Syn:
2) N-PLURAL: usu with supp, oft N of n (disapproval) You can use fetters to refer to things such as rules, traditions, or responsibilities that you dislike because they prevent you from behaving in the way you want. [LITERARY]

...the fetters of social convention.

Syn:
constraints
3) N-COUNT: usu pl Especially in former times, fetters were chains for a prisoner's feet.

He saw a boy in fetters in the dungeons.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fetter — Fet ter (f[e^]t t[ e]r), n. [AS. fetor, feter; akin to OS. feter[=o]s, pl., OD. veter, OHG. fezzera, Icel. fj[ o]turr, L. pedica, Gr. pe dh, and to E. foot. [root] 77. See {Foot}.] [Chiefly used in the plural, {fetters}.] 1. A chain or shackle… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fetter — Fet ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fettered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fettering}.] 1. To put fetters upon; to shackle or confine the feet of with a chain; to bind. [1913 Webster] My heels are fettered, but my fist is free. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fetter — Fetter, Adolf von, preuß. General, geb. 27. Juli 1846 in Köln, wurde 1865 Leutnant, besuchte 1869–1873 mit Unterbrechung durch den Krieg die Kriegsakademie, war zur Dienstleistung beim Großen Generalstab befehligt, wirkte als Lehrer an der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • fetter — I noun bond, bridle, catena, chain, check, compes, confinement, constraint, control, curb, detention, deterrence, deterrent, disadvantage, encumbrance, gyve, hamper, handicap, hindrance, impediment, imprisonment, incarceration, inhibition,… …   Law dictionary

  • fetter — vb shackle, *hamper, trammel, clog, manacle, hog tie Analogous words: *hinder, impede, obstruct, block, bar, dam: *restrain, curb, check: baffle, balk, thwart, foil, *frustrate: bind, *tie Contrasted words: * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • fetter — [v] tie up, hold bind, chain, check, clog, confine, cuff, curb, drag feet, encumber, hamper, hamstring*, handcuff, hang up, hinder, hobble, hog tie*, hold captive, leash, manacle, put straitjacket on*, repress, restrain, restrict, shackle, throw… …   New thesaurus

  • fetter — ► NOUN 1) a chain or shackle placed around a prisoner s ankles. 2) a restraint or check. ► VERB 1) restrain with fetters. 2) (be fettered) be restricted. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • fetter — [fet′ər] n. [ME feter < OE < base of fot, FOOT, akin to Ger fessel] 1. a shackle or chain for the feet 2. anything that holds in check; restraint vt. [ME feterien < OE (ge)feterian] 1. to bind with fetters; shackle; chain …   English World dictionary

  • fetter — {{11}}fetter (n.) O.E. fetor chain or shackle for the feet, from P.Gmc. *fetero (Cf. O.S. feteros (pl.), M.Du. veter fetter, in modern Dutch lace, string, O.H.G. fezzera, O.N. fiöturr, Swed. fjätter), from PIE root *ped foot (see FOOT (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • fetter — UK [ˈfetə(r)] / US [ˈfetər] verb [transitive] Word forms fetter : present tense I/you/we/they fetter he/she/it fetters present participle fettering past tense fettered past participle fettered 1) literary to limit someone s freedom to do what… …   English dictionary

  • fetter — [OE] Etymologically, fetters are shackles for restraining the ‘feet’. The word comes from prehistoric Germanic *feterō, which derived ultimately from the same Indo European base, *ped , as produced English foot. The parallel Latin formation,… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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