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fetters of sth
fetters 常用复数形式表示抽象束缚。
The country threw off the fetters of colonial rule.
这个国家摆脱了殖民统治的束缚。
脚镣
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
脚镣
a shackle for the ankles or feet
The country threw off the fetters of colonial rule.
这个国家摆脱了殖民统治的束缚。
A chain or similar object used to bind a person or animal, often by its legs.
Anything that restricts or restrains.
Strict regulations can fetter creativity in the classroom.
严格的规章制度会束缚课堂上的创造力。
The project was fettered by a lack of funds.
这个项目因资金不足而受到束缚。
Fettering employees with too many rules reduces their motivation.
用太多规则束缚员工会降低他们的积极性。
fetters 常用复数形式表示抽象束缚。
The country threw off the fetters of colonial rule.
这个国家摆脱了殖民统治的束缚。
字面义表示戴着脚镣，多用于历史或文学语境。
The captive was kept in fetters.
俘虏被戴上脚镣关押。
该用法侧重限制自由发展。
The new rules would fetter small businesses.
新规定会束缚小企业。
被动语态强调受制于某因素。
Progress is often fettered by bureaucracy.
进步常常受到官僚体制的束缚。
Not this
Education should be free from all fetter.
Use this
Education should be free from all fetters.
名词 fetter 表抽象义“束缚/羁绊”时为可数名词，常用复数 fetters；汉语“束缚”不可数，所以易漏 -s。all 后须接复数可数名词，故改为 fetters。
Not this
This old rule is a fetter to progress.
Use this
This old rule is a fetter on progress.
名词 fetter 表“束缚/阻碍”时搭配介词 on，构成 a fetter on...；受汉语“……的束缚”中“对”的影响，学习者常误用 to，故应改为 on。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
被…束缚
Many employees are fettered by outdated company policies.
许多员工受到过时的公司政策的束缚。
打破枷锁
The movement aimed to break the fetters of censorship.
这场运动旨在打破审查制度的枷锁。
传统的束缚
She finally freed herself from the fetters of tradition.
她终于摆脱了传统的束缚。
政治束缚
Journalists faced political fetters in the authoritarian state.
在那个威权国家，记者们面临政治束缚。
戴着脚镣；受束缚
The prisoner was in fetters as he was led into the court.
囚犯被带进法庭时戴着脚镣。
戴着脚镣；受束缚
The prisoners were led into the courtroom in fetters.
囚犯们戴着脚镣被带进法庭。
挣脱束缚
It's time to break the fetters of outdated thinking.
是时候打破过时思维的束缚了。
某物的束缚/枷锁
They sought to free themselves from the fetters of convention.
他们试图摆脱习俗的束缚。
我缠绕在她的发间，被她的目光所束缚；空中嬉游的鸟儿，也不懂得这样的自由。
A famous line from Richard Lovelace's poem 'To Althea, from Prison' (1642), written while he was imprisoned during the English Civil War.
这是理查德·洛夫莱斯在英国内战期间被监禁时写下的诗作《狱中致阿尔西娅》（1642年）中的名句。
Use fetter naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想：fetter 与 feet（脚）形似，镣铐锁在脚上，引申为束缚。
语域：formal 常见场景：formal writing、literary works、historical accounts fetter 通常用于正式或文学性语境，既可指真实的脚镣，也常比喻“束缚、限制”。日常口语中较少出现，多用于书面语、历史描述或正式议论；总体属于正式语体，使用时注意场合。
Words that rhyme with fetter /ˈfetə/: better, letter, setter, sweater, debtor, wetter all end with the /etə/ sound. Watch out for lookalikes that do not rhyme: fitter /ˈfɪtə/, feature /ˈfiːtʃə/, fever /ˈfiːvə/.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.