Make Your Point: UNFETTER

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pronounce UNFETTER:

UN FED ur

connect this word to others:

If you're fettered, your feet are tied.

What about if your hands are tied? Then you're m__acled.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

Let's start with "fetters," which comes from Old English and means "chains or shackles for the feet," or figuratively, "things that stop people or things from freely doing what they want, as if by chaining or shackling their feet."

"Fetter" also works as a verb, meaning "to put chains or shackles on the feet," or figuratively, "to stop people or things from freely doing what they want, as if by chaining or shackling their feet."

That leads us to the happy word "unfetter"! To unfetter people or things is to stop restricting them, to set them free: to let them freely do what they want, as if by removing chains or shackles from their feet.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, the transitive kind: "She says the ocean breeze unfetters her soul."

Other forms:

The other verb forms are "unfettered" and "unfettering."

how to use it:

"Unfetter" is a formal, semi-common word that tends to carry a positive tone.

We sometimes talk about things that unfetter someone, or that unfetter someone's mind, creativity, musical expression, and so on.

Most often, we turn "unfetter" into an adjective: we talk about unfettered minds and spirits; unfettered views and access; unfettered expressions and performances and lifestyles; and unfettered emotions, like unfettered joy or goofiness.

examples:

"On this day she'd brushed her hair out long and tossed it to flow down the length of her back, unfettered by braids or ribbons."
— David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994

"There was something about those closed doors and shuttered windows that struck coldly at me, used as I was to open fields and the sky and the unfettered sight of the sun."
— Kamala Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve, 1954

has this page helped you understand "unfetter"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "unfetter" without saying "unchain" or "unshackle."

try it out:

Here's an eloquent example from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail:

"Socrates felt that it was necessary to... rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal."

Could you explain what he means? What does it mean for "myths and half truths" to fetter our minds? And once we're unfettered, what can we accomplish?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "That's A New One!"

I'll define and describe an amusing term that Dictionary.com has recently embraced. See if you can come up with it, and if you need more hints, you can reveal them by highlighting the black bits. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

Try this one today:

According to Dictionary.com, it's "the false belief that one can enjoy the benefits of two choices that are in fact mutually exclusive."

It entered English around 2016.

It's one word.

It refers to a proverb that asserts that you can't have things both ways.

It starts with the letter... C.

Its number of syllables is...three.

Its first three letters are... CAK.

review this word:

1. The precise opposite of UNFETTER is FETTER. But a pretty close opposite of UNFETTER is

A. GUIDE.
B. COMPOSE.
C. RESTRICT.

2. A writer for Salon described a television show as "an effective allegory of unfettered capitalism as a rigged and failing game," meaning that, in the show and in the society it reflects, capitalism operates without _____.

A. fuss
B. constraint
C. an overarching plan

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
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On writing...
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From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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