fraught

1 of 3

adjective

ˈfrȯt

Synonyms of fraught next

: full of or accompanied by something specified

—used with with

a situation fraught with danger

The paper was poorly researched and is fraught with errors.

: causing or characterized by emotional distress or tension : uneasy

a fraught relationship

archaic

: laden

: well supplied or provided

fraught

2 of 3

noun

ˈfrȯḵt

chiefly Scotland

: load, cargo

fraught

3 of 3

verb

ˈfrȯḵt

fraughted or fraught; fraughting

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland

: load, freight

Did you know?

An early instance of the word fraught occurs in the 14th century poem Richard Coer de Lion, about England’s King Richard I. “The drowmound was so hevy fraught / That unethe myght it saylen aught” is about a large fast-sailing ship so heavily fraught—that is, loaded—that it can barely sail. The use is typical for the time; originally, something that was fraught was laden with freight. For centuries, fraught continued to be used in relation to loaded ships, but its use was eventually broadened for situations that are heavy with tension, emotion, or some other weighty characteristic.

Examples of fraught in a Sentence

Adjective every room in my childhood home is fraught with memories had a fraught meeting with his estranged wife to discuss a divorce settlement

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Adjective

While comparing any modern political figure to those of this era is fraught, Weimar Germany remains one of modern history's most infamous examples of the collapse of a democracy and the rise of authoritarianism. —

Christine Adams / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024 Voting, when utilized as the only tool for societal change, is fraught, as the actors and administrations are always in flux. —

Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 4 Nov. 2024 In a fragmented media landscape, getting the attention of voters who aren’t partisan news consumers is fraught, says Daniel Kreiss, a professor of political communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. —

Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2024 Nevertheless, the movie’s journey to U.S. movie screens was fraught — and that was the case in Russia, too. —

Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fraught

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English frauȝt, frawt "loaded, burdened," from past participle of fraughten "to load (a ship with cargo)" — more at fraught entry 3

Note: See note at fraught entry 2.

Noun

Middle English fraght, fraught (early Scots fraught), borrowed from Middle Dutch & Middle Low German vracht "cargo, charge for transport," borrowed from Old Frisian, going back to West Germanic *fraihti-, probably "what is given over or consigned to someone" — more at freight entry 1

Note: English has borrowed the same continental Germanic etymon in two distinct forms, exemplified by fraught entry 2 and synonymous freight entry 1. The first of these was a loan from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German, though the a vocalism suggests that its source is ultimately Old Frisian. At a relatively early date it spread south and west into the Dutch speech area, and east into the Low German area, presumably as a commercial term, and then from these areas to English and the Scandinavian languages. (See M. de Vaan, "West-Germanic *ai in Frisian," Amsterdamer Beiträge zur alteren Germanistik, Band 67 [2011], pp. 301-14.) English also borrowed Middle Dutch vrecht, whence freight entry 1, with the e vocalism exemplifying the normal development of Germanic *ai in this position in Dutch. In present-day English, only freight continues the noun, The noun and verb fraught are now only represented by Scots fraucht, fracht, still perhaps in regional use (see The Concise Scots Dictionary), while fraught as an adjective persists only in figurative senses.

Verb

Middle English fraughten (early Scots frawcht), verbal derivative of fraght, fraught "load, freight" — more at fraught entry 2

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of fraught was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fraught.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fraught. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

fraught

adjective

ˈfrȯt

: full of something specified

fraught with danger

Last Updated: 19 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

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fraught

adjective

noun

verb

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Synonyms

Examples of fraught in a Sentence

Word History

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Dictionary Entries Near fraught

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Kids Definition