From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfetterfet‧ter /ˈfetə $ -ər/ verb [transitive] literary 1 LIMITto restrict someone’s freedom and prevent them from doing what they want fettered by family responsibilities2 SCJto put chains around a prisoner’s hands or feet SYN chainGrammar Fetter is usually passive.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
fetter• The industry is fettered by debt.• Imaginations fettered by today's highly successful orthodoxy will break free.• In fact, kids often tend to have a less fettered, more honest view of the world around them.• Any attempt to stifle or fetter such criticism amounts to political censorship of the most insidious and objectionable kind.• It is a personal agreement between shareholders which does not fetter the company in the exercise of its statutory powers.• The advisers need to ensure that the obligations do not fetter the company's powers in any way.• The words of the Insolvency Act 1986 do not fetter the court's discretion in any way.• It could fetter the independence of the judiciary. 