fraught

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 6, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>fraught</strong> &#149; \FRAWT\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Fraught</em> means “causing or having a lot of emotional stress or worry.” When <em>fraught</em> is used in the phrase “fraught with,” it means “full of something bad or unwanted.”</p> <p>// Ever since their cat went missing, the atmosphere in their apartment has been <em>fraught</em>.</p> <p>// The paper was poorly researched and <em>fraught</em> with errors.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fraught">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Today, campus life is much more stressful, <em>fraught</em>, time-stressed and anxiety-ridden. Compared to high school, college is far more academically rigorous and represents the very first time that many students have ever earned less than an A.” — Steven Mintz, <em>Inside Higher Ed</em>, 2 Jan. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>An early instance of the word <em>fraught</em> occurs in the 14th century poem <em>Richard Coer de Lion</em>, 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 <em>fraught</em> was <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laden">laden</a> with freight. For centuries, <em>fraught</em> 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.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>