fettered fet·te·red UK/ˈfɛtəd/ US/ˈfɛtɚd/ uncommon adjective 1. bound by chains fastened around the ankles Synonymsin bondsin fettersshackled Similarbound WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.