charged

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of charge.

   Investigators charged him with two counts of fraud.

   The battery charged fully within an hour.

   Note

   One spelling serves as both the simple past and the past participle, so only the sentence around it tells them apart: she charged the fee, the fee was charged. The meaning of charge also depends on context. It can be a price asked, a debit put on an account, or a crime formally alleged (charged with fraud). The participle also hardens into the adjective of strong feeling, as in emotionally charged.

2. 2
   adjective

   Holding or carrying an electric charge; storing electrical energy.

   The charged particles accelerated through the magnetic field.

   Technicians confirmed the capacitor was fully charged before testing.

   Oppositeneutral

   Note

   Two different things hide in this sense. A charged particle carries a net electric charge, positive or negative. A charged phone has a battery that has stored energy and is ready to use. The first describes what something is. The second is everyday talk about readiness, and it naturally takes degree words: fully charged, half charged.

3. 3
   adjective

   Tending to provoke strong emotion or reaction in those who encounter it.

   Immigration remains a politically charged topic in many countries.

   The debate touched on several emotionally charged questions.

   Similaremotive, sensitive, contentious, controversial, loaded

   Oppositeneutral, uncontroversial

   Note

   Usually it rides behind an adverb naming the kind of feeling: politically charged, emotionally charged. Here the emotion lies in the people who meet the thing, so a charged issue is one that stirs others. By contrast, the expressive sense puts the feeling in a speaker or an act, and the "tense" sense puts it in the air of a particular moment.

4. 4
   adjective

   Filled with tension and strong, often unspoken, emotion.

   The meeting grew charged as old grievances surfaced.

   A charged atmosphere hung over the crowded courtroom.

   Similartense, fraught, electric, strained

   Oppositerelaxed, calm

5. 5
   adjective

   Expressing or carrying strong emotion.

   The actor delivered a charged performance full of raw feeling.

   Their reunion was charged with joy and relief.

   Similaremotional, passionate, intense

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