masterless
Lacking any superior
Masterless describes someone or something without a master—no owner, no employer, no controlling authority.
A masterless dog is a stray.
Historically, masterless men were vagabonds or outlaws outside feudal structures, viewed with suspicion.
In Japanese culture, a masterless samurai is a ronin.
The word suggests freedom but often carries undertones of dangerous independence: masterless servants roaming the countryside.
- strayWander from course
- stray dogAbandoned roaming canine
- untamedNot domesticated
- feralWild after domestication
- unownedHaving no possessor
lordless · unclaimed · ronin · unruled · leaderless · abandoned · unbeholden · wild · lone wolf · lost · leashless · autonomous · uncommanded · captainless · ungoverned · uncollared · unmastered · vagabond
masterlessmastered
Gained full proficiency
controlled · subordinate · owned · subservient · subject
masterlessenslaved
Made someone's property
bonded · indentured · bound · unfree · in bondage
masterlessapprenticed
Bound for training
mentored · trained · tutored · guided · instructed
master, mastery, mister, mistress, masterpiece, mastermind, masterful, mastering, masters