fraught

1 of 3

adjective

1
: 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.
2
: causing or characterized by emotional distress or tension : uneasy
a fraught relationship
3
archaic
a
: laden
b
: well supplied or provided

fraught

2 of 3

noun

chiefly Scotland
: load, cargo

fraught

3 of 3

verb

fraughted or fraught; fraughting

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland

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
Adjective
The world around them was fraught, with fascism on the rise in Germany, Italy and Spain. Kc Cole, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024 And major projects, such as the shift to the cloud, are complex, fraught multiyear journeys. John Kell, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2024 Such negative attitudes toward Black hair can make a process that should be fun—picking a hairstyle for your wedding—complicated and fraught. Leah Faye Cooper, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2024 What remains unclear is how the ruling Communist Party can navigate toward stronger, sustained growth as China’s workforce is aging, relations with Washington are fraught, and housing construction — a main driver of the economy — is in crisis. Dake Kang and Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 The measure announced Sunday brings pushes Congress closer to finalizing a lengthy government process that was supposed to be far less fraught. Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 The city’s global reputation took a hit after years of pandemic isolation drove an exodus of talent and a sweeping crackdown on political freedoms turned it into a flashpoint in fraught relations between the world’s two superpowers. Alan Wong, Fortune Asia, 2 Mar. 2024 This government funding process was supposed to be far less fraught. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 1 Mar. 2024 Pachinko makes for a moving introduction to the region’s fraught 20th century history. Roger Sands, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fraught.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

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Dictionary Entries Near fraught

Cite this Entry

“Fraught.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fraught. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fraught

adjective
ˈfrȯt
: full of something specified
fraught with danger

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