unfree
unfree — adjective
- unfreepositive
- more unfreecomparative
- most unfreesuperlative
1. kept from acting, choosing, or moving freely by rules, controls, or restrictions
kept from acting, choosing, or moving freely by rules, controls, or restrictions imposed by other people or by a system.
David felt unfree in his cramped office, where cameras watched his every movement.
feel/remain + unfree (predicative)
The contract left Nadia unfree to take another job for two years after leaving.
unfree + to-infinitive (constraint pattern)
Baraka described the boarding school as an unfree place run by bells and timetables.
Evelyn grew up in an unfree household run by strict rules and schedules.
The prisoners lived in unfree conditions, locked in cells for twenty-three hours daily.
- restricted
more general; can apply to access or movement without implying control by others
- constrained
slightly more formal; focuses on being held back from acting freely
- controlled
emphasises that an outside authority sets the limits
- bound
stronger, often implies a legal or moral obligation that prevents action
- free
direct opposite — able to act without external control
- unrestricted
emphasises the absence of limits or rules
文法句型
unfree + noun
feel/remain + unfree
用法筆記
Common in descriptions of political systems, workplaces, or domestic environments where individual autonomy is removed.
常見錯誤
2. relating to a situation in which workers must labour against their will, typical
relating to a situation in which workers must labour against their will, typically receiving little or no pay and facing punishment if they refuse.
The garment factory relied on unfree labour, with workers sleeping in locked dormitories at night.
collocation: unfree labour
Beatriz read about unfree labour on cocoa farms where children worked without any wages.
unfree labour + location (sector/industry)
Rohan learned that his great-grandfather was an unfree worker on a rubber plantation.
Layla's report documented unfree labour on fishing boats along the coast of Thailand.
- forced
more common and general; covers any work done under compulsion
- bonded
specifically refers to labour used to pay off a debt
- indentured
historical; describes a contract binding a worker for a fixed period
- servile
broader; can describe a person's position or attitude, not just labour
文法句型
unfree + labour/worker
用法筆記
Primarily appears before nouns such as 'labour', 'work', and 'worker'. This sense is most common in academic, legal, and human-rights reporting.
常見錯誤
unfree — noun
1. people who live or work in a condition of servitude, especially those legally re
people who live or work in a condition of servitude, especially those legally regarded as the property of another person and required to obey that person completely.
The history book described how the unfree were transported across the Atlantic in terrible conditions.
the + unfree as collective noun (historical context)
Padma gave a lecture on the legal rights of the unfree under ancient Roman law.
the + unfree in legal/academic context
The museum exhibit shared stories of the unfree who built the city's oldest roads.
Tamar wrote a poem about the dignity and strength of the unfree throughout history.
- the enslaved
more direct and commonly used in modern writing
- slaves
stronger emotional charge; more widely recognised
- bondspeople
historical term less common than 'slaves'
- free people
those who are not in servitude
- freemen
historical term for people who were not enslaved
文法句型
the + unfree
用法筆記
Always used with the definite article ('the unfree'). Refers to a group of people collectively, not an individual (you would not say 'an unfree' to mean one person).