fraught

[frawt]

adjective

1. full of, accompanied by, or involving something specified, usually something unpleasant (often followed bywith ): her pain-fraught body; a gathering fraught with joyful sounds.

   a task fraught with danger;

   her pain-fraught body;

   emotionally fraught lyrics;

   a gathering fraught with joyful sounds.

2. characterized by or causing tension or stress: We are living in fraught times.

   He has always been overweight, so his relationship with food is fraught.

   We are living in fraught times.

3. Archaic.,  filled or laden.

   ships fraught with precious wares.

noun

1. Scot.,  a load; cargo; freight (of a ship).

fraught

/ frɔːt /

adjective

1. filled or charged; attended

   a venture fraught with peril

2. informal,  showing or producing tension or anxiety

   she looks rather fraught

   a fraught situation

3. archaic,  freighted

noun

1. an obsolete word for freight

Other Word Forms

• overfraught adjective
• unfraught adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fraught¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German vracht “freight money, freight”; compare Old High German frēht “earnings,” Old English ǣht “possession”; freight

Word History and Origins

Origin of fraught¹

C14: from Middle Dutch vrachten , from vracht _freight

Example Sentences

And the idea of this mother-daughter relationship, which especially in the teenage years, can be very fraught.

From Los Angeles Times

To Liverpool's surprise, Palace seemed receptive to the offer raising hope that their concerns of a fraught negotiation were unnecessary.

From BBC

Many will remember the fraught SNP conference of 2023 when he and his wife Nadia waited for news as her parents were trapped in Gaza.

From BBC

She said her family had spent a fraught day continuously calling Mark's phone, only learning at midnight that his motorcycle had been involved in the crash.

From BBC

It’s a reflection, in part, of how fraught the issue has been on campus.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• charged 
• filled www.thesaurus.com
• replete