Words in Context

SAT Reading and Writing· difficulty 4/5

The treaty's drafters knew that any provision touching religion would be fraught, so they kept the relevant clauses deliberately brief. Even with that caution, ratification took the better part of two years.

As used in the text, what does the word "fraught" most nearly mean?

  • A

    ambiguous

  • B

    freighted with cargo

  • C

    forgotten

  • D

    filled with tension

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Explanation

Religious provisions are politically charged, hence the brief drafting and slow ratification — "fraught" means full of tension or anxiety. The original maritime sense ("freighted") is archaic.

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