Fraught
Etymology
From Middle Dutch “vracht,” cargo or freight — the same source as the word “freight.” Originally it meant simply laden, as a ship is laden with goods. From “fraught with danger” (loaded with it), the word came to stand alone meaning tense and full of strain.
adjective · /FRAWT/
Filled with something undesirable, or tense and anxious.
What it names
Loadedness — a situation so charged with risk or emotion that it feels heavy before anything has even gone wrong.
Example
The negotiation was fraught from the first minute, both sides braced for betrayal.
Related idea
A fraught situation is heavy with tension or risk; a precarious one is unstable and about to tip. Fraught is about strain; precarious is about balance.
See also