unfree
/ˌʌnˈfriː/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌʌnˈfriː/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌən-ˈfrē/ (ame, mw)
unfree — adjective
- unfreepositive
- more unfreecomparative
- most unfreesuperlative
1. unable to choose, speak, or act for yourself because another person, rule, or sy
unable to choose, speak, or act for yourself because another person, rule, or system controls you
After the coup, Hassan felt unfree to speak his mind online.
feel unfree to + verb when choice is blocked
Under the camp rules, Anna was unfree after sunset and could not leave.
The press stayed unfree under the new military law.
Minh grew up in an unfree state where officials opened private letters.
The students remained unfree because every club needed police approval.
- restricted
Often points to a specific rule or limit rather than a whole social condition.
- controlled
Stresses outside direction more than personal liberty.
- oppressed
Stronger, with a clearer sense of injustice or cruelty.
- free
Basic opposite for personal or civil liberty.
文法句型
feel unfree to + verb
be unfree under + system or law
用法筆記
Often used in formal writing about societies, speech, travel, or political life. It suggests that liberty is blocked by outside power, not just by a small inconvenience.
2. describing work or workers kept in service by force, debt, law, or ownership ins
describing work or workers kept in service by force, debt, law, or ownership instead of free choice
The report compared plantation debt to unfree labor in nearby mines.
unfree labor in historical systems
Historians study how unfree workers built the canal by hand.
The museum explains why unfree labor lasted after the war.
Court records show unfree children sold with their parents.
Maeve wrote about unfree servants on sugar farms in Barbados.
- free
Used when workers can leave or choose their work.
文法句型
unfree labor
unfree workers
用法筆記
Usually appears before words like labor, worker, servant, or population in historical discussion. It often covers slavery, serfdom, or debt bondage rather than ordinary hard work.
unfree — noun
1. people living under another person's control, especially enslaved people
people living under another person's control, especially enslaved people
The uprising began when the unfree refused to harvest more cotton.
the + unfree as a group noun
A wall painting shows the unfree carrying stones to the palace.
The law divided the town into citizens, foreigners, and the unfree.
In her essay, Anjali asked how the unfree kept family ties alive.
Rohan traced the songs the unfree sang at night.
- freemen
Historical opposite for people with legal freedom.
文法句型
the unfree
用法筆記
Most often used as the unfree in history or political writing, not as a regular count noun like one unfree or two unfree. It refers to a social class rather than one named person.