Meaning & use
untethered
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not fastened by a rope or chain and so free to move.
Grammar: Often after be or before a noun: an untethered balloon.
Patterns
- untethered from something
The untethered boat drifted slowly out of the bay.
An untethered horse wandered into the road.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Free from the things that normally hold a person in place, such as a job, a location or fixed ideas.
Grammar: Often followed by from: untethered from routine.
Patterns
- untethered from something
Working online left her untethered from any single city.
After the move he felt strangely untethered from his old habits.
The argument felt untethered from the facts.
Common combinations
- untethered from reality
- His theories seemed untethered from reality.
- feel untethered
- Many students feel untethered in their first week away.
- untethered balloon
- An untethered balloon floated over the fair.
- untethered work
- Remote jobs offer untethered work for those who want it.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unfettered
- Unfettered stresses lack of restriction, while untethered stresses lack of an anchor or connection.
- adrift
- Adrift adds a sense of being lost, whereas untethered can feel freeing.
- unattached
- Unattached is plainer and often refers to relationships or ties.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: untethered or unhinged?
untethered vs unhinged
Unhinged means mentally unbalanced, not simply free from ties.
Practice
With her laptop and a good connection, she felt ___ from any one office.
Choose one answer.
Being free from a single office is untethered. Tethered, attached and anchored all mean the opposite, being tied to a place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “untethered”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.