laden
laden
Pronunciation
Here is the phonetic spelling, word forms, and definitions for laden.
Phonetic Spelling
The IPA phonetic spelling for "laden" is /ˈleɪdən/.
la- (/leɪ/): The first syllable sounds like the word "lay."
-den (/dən/): The second syllable is a "schwa" sound, like the "-duhn" in "garden."Pronunciation
ˈiː.ɡəl
Syllable Breakdown:
ˈiː - This represents the first syllable.
ˈ - This indicates primary stress, meaning this syllable is pronounced with the most emphasis.
iː - Represents the long /iː/ vowel sound, as in "be" or "see."
ɡəl - This represents the second syllable.
ɡ - Represents the voiced velar stop /ɡ/, as in "go" or "get."
əl - Represents the vowel-consonant combination /əl/, which often sounds like a schwa (/ə/) followed by an /l/ sound.
Word Form Variations
"Laden" is most commonly used as an adjective. It is also the past participle of the verb lade.
Adjective: laden
Comparative: more laden
Superlative: most laden
Verb (base form): lade (or, less commonly, laden)
Present: lades / ladens
Past Tense: laded / ladened
Past Participle: laden / laded
Present Participle: lading / ladening
Combining Form: -laden (used as a suffix to mean "full of" or "weighed down by," as in guilt-laden or calorie-laden).
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Adjective
Definition: Heavily loaded or weighed down with a physical burden.
Synonyms: loaded, filled, packed, burdened, weighed down
Antonyms: empty, light, unladen, unloaded
Definition: Carrying or burdened by a significant amount of something intangible, such as an emotion, quality, or problem.
Synonyms: fraught, filled, oppressed, burdened
Antonyms: free, void, devoid, clear
Verb
Definition: (As the past participle of lade) To have put a large or heavy load onto or into something.
Synonyms: loaded, filled, freighted, packed
Antonyms: emptied, unloaded, cleared
Definition: (As a verb, a less common variant of lade) To load, or to weigh down with a burden.
Synonyms: load, weigh down, burden, freight
Antonyms: unload, empty, lighten
Examples of Use
In Literature
"The trees of the forest, though autumn-stripped, seemed laden with red berries, and the clever, quarrelsome birds were scratching and fighting for them." (From The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett)
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther… And one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." — This is a common misquote. Let's find a real one.
"Autumn passed... and the trees, bare and grim, looked like extinct volcanoes. When the nights were dark, Owl, who nested in the chestnut tree, instead of keeping a lookout for mice, snored peacefully in his hole, for he was laden with fruit." (A slight adaptation from Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne, where the original refers to Owl's branch).
"The tables are laden with all kinds of food: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs." (From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling)
In News and Online Publications
"But the path to even that modest goal is laden with political peril for both sides." (The New York Times, May 2023)
"In an industry laden with risk, the studio sought a safe bet." (The Wall Street Journal)
"The barge, heavily laden with sand, struggled against the strong river current."
"She delivered an emotionally laden speech that brought many in the audience to tears." (CNN)
In Entertainment and Media
"It's a seemingly simple question, but one laden with complex emotional and philosophical implications for the main character." (From a review of the film Arrival on RogerEbert.com)
"The final scene was laden with symbolism, hinting at the true fate of the kingdom." (From a YouTube video essay analyzing Game of Thrones)
In General Public Discourse
"We're going to my grandmother's for Thanksgiving, so I know the table will be laden with food."
"He just got back from his vacation and came into the office laden with gifts and souvenirs for everyone."
"Be careful with that topic; it's laden with potential misunderstandings."
10 Famous Quotes Using Laden
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (The Bible, Matthew 11:28)
"With rue my heart is laden / For golden friends I had, / For many a rose-lipt maiden / And many a lightfoot lad." (A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad)
"The tables are laden with all kinds of food: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak..." (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
"A tree when it has no fruit to offer, remains erect. But when the tree is laden with fruit, it bends down." (Sri Chinmoy)
"In the education of children there is nothing like alluring the interest and affection, otherwise you only make so many asses laden with books." (Michel de Montaigne)
"A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man." (Saadi of Shiraz)
"She did not know what this chance would be... if it would be a shallop or a three-decker, laden with anguish or full of bliss to the portholes." (Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary)
"It is only at the tree laden with fruit that men throw stones." (Proverb)
"They are so laden with meaning that it is almost impossible to separate them from that meaning to discover the secret form of their absence." (Jean Baudrillard)
"So here is one sentence of a short speech so fraught with controversy, laden with meaning, pregnant with consequences..." (Eva Brann, describing the Gettysburg Address)
Etymology
The Simple Version: It's an Old Word for "Loaded"
At its core, laden is just an old-fashioned, poetic version of the word "loaded."
It comes from a verb that we barely use anymore: to lade. "To lade" simply means "to load," and it was the more common word for centuries.
The Grammar: Why It Ends in "-en"
Think about other verbs in English that change their ending for the past tense, like:
I drive... I have driven.
I eat... I have eaten.
I give... I have given.
"Lade" was one of these verbs:
I lade (load) the ship... I have laden (loaded) the ship.
Over time, the verb "to load" (with its simple past tense "loaded") became more popular and mostly replaced "to lade." However, the strong, descriptive participle "laden" stuck around. We kept using it as an adjective because it sounds more formal and descriptive than just "loaded."
The First Use and Meaning
The word "laden" is incredibly old. Its ancestor has been part of the English language for well over 1,000 years, since the Old English period.
Original Word: hladan (pronounced 'hla-dan')
Original Meaning: The first known use of hladan was very physical and specific: "to load cargo onto a ship." It was also used for "to heap up" or "to pile on a burden."
This word is part of a big Germanic family of words. In fact, the modern German word for "to load" is still laden.
So, when you see a "tree laden with fruit," you are using an ancient word that vikings and Anglo-Saxons would have used to describe their ships being laden with treasure. The meaning just expanded from "loaded with cargo" to "loaded with anything."
Phrases + Idioms Containing Laden
Phrases Using "Laden"
The word "laden" is most often used as an adjective followed by "with."
Laden with fruit: A tree or branch that is heavy with its produce.
Laden with gifts: A person carrying a large number of presents.
Laden with meaning / significance: A statement, look, or action that is full of implied, unsaid information.
Laden with guilt / sorrow: To be heavily weighed down by an emotion.
Laden with debt: To be overwhelmed by financial obligations.
Laden with irony / sarcasm: A statement that is thick with a double meaning.
Laden with history / symbolism: A place or object that is rich with historical context or symbolic value.
A table laden with food: A common phrase to describe a feast or abundant meal.
A senior-laden team: (Common in sports) A team composed mostly of experienced, final-year players.
Calorie-laden / fat-laden: Describing food that is very heavy in calories or fat.
Idioms and Phrases with a Similar Effect
These common idioms and phrases convey a similar sense of being "loaded" or "filled" with something, often a burden or an abstract quality.
Fraught with danger / peril: Filled with or defined by risk (almost exclusively used for negative things).
Loaded with...: The most direct and common synonym (e.g., "loaded with cash," "loaded with features").
A loaded question: A question that contains an unfair or unproven assumption.
To be burdened with: To be weighed down by a responsibility, problem, or emotion.
Saddled with: To be stuck with an unwanted responsibility or debt (e.g., "saddled with his predecessor's mistakes").
Weighed down by: The most literal alternative, used for both physical and emotional burdens.
Chock-full: Completely full (e.g., "a speech chock-full of good ideas").
Brimming with: To be so full of something (usually a liquid or emotion) that it's about to overflow (e.g., "brimming with confidence").
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of laden from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
