unfree

Lacking all liberty

Unfree describes a condition of constraint or bondage—the opposite of free.

It applies to people lacking liberty or self-determination: unfree laborers, serfs and other unfree persons.

The word extends to societies or systems that restrict freedom: an unfree press, unfree markets.

Less common than its opposite, unfree tends toward formal or academic contexts.

oppressed

subjugation

Forcing into submission

tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
despotismAbsolute one-person rule
persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups

exploitation · domination · coercion · suppression · disenfranchisement · marginalization · servitude · bondage · serfdom · slavery

bound

shackles

Metal bonds for prisoners

chainsLinked metal restraints
fetteredBound in chains
manaclesWrist shackles for prisoners

tethered · yoked · leashed · hobbled · trammelled · ensnared · entangled · captive · imprisoned · enslaved

restricted

prohibited

Officially not permitted

forbiddenNot allowed
regulatedMade to follow rules
controlledKept within limits

curtailed · limited · censored · surveilled · monitored · constrained · inhibited · barred · denied · blocked

Categories

legal statusesmarried, single, divorced, citizen, widowed
unfree laborserfs, thralls, bondsmen, chattel, indentured servants
Celtic lawBrehon law, Brehon laws, legal texts, dire, lawgivers

Opposites

personal liberty

unfreefree

Without payment or restriction

liberated · emancipated · unshackled · unchained · unconfined

Family

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G