noun
- chains or shackles placed around the feet to prevent escape
- something that restricts or restrains freedom of action
Usage: figurative
verb
- to restrain with chains or shackles
- to restrict or limit someone’s freedom or actions
Usage: figurative
Examples
- The prisoner’s ankles were bound with heavy iron fetters.
- She broke free from the fetters that had held her captive.
- The strict rules acted as fetters on their creativity.
- He refused to let tradition fetter his artistic expression.
- The dictator sought to fetter the press with harsh censorship laws.
- Economic hardship can fetter a person’s ability to pursue education.
- The old customs fettered women’s participation in public life.