Fraught

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Fraught

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

frawt  /frɔːt/

Definition

(Of a situation or course of action) filled with or likely to result in something undesirable; causing or affected by great anxiety or stress; (archaic) laden or freighted.

Plain meaning

Fraught means filled with tension, danger, or difficulty — a fraught situation, a fraught relationship, the negotiations were fraught.

Register

Slightly formal to neutral. Commonly used in journalism, analysis, and thoughtful speech. More precise than tense or difficult.