fraught
fraught Lexical Profile
fraught Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Filled with or likely to result in something undesirable, such as danger, difficulty, or risk (typically followed by 'with').
"Negotiating a peace treaty between the two rival factions was a delicate process fraught with difficulty."
Causing or affected by great anxiety, distress, or emotional tension.
"There was a fraught silence in the courtroom as the jury filed back in to deliver the verdict."
Word Nuance & Usage
When meaning 'filled with something undesirable,' 'fraught' is used predicatively and followed by the preposition 'with' (e.g., 'fraught with peril'); when meaning 'anxious or tense,' it can stand alone before a noun or after a linking verb (e.g., 'a fraught situation').
• Rhymes for fraught
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'fraughten' ('to load a ship with cargo'), borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German 'vrachten', from 'vracht' ('freight, cargo'). It shares the same root as the modern English word 'freight' and originally served as the past participle of the verb 'fraught' ('laden with cargo').