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Usage of:
Scandal-ridden companies, disease-ridden countries, etc.
Vs.
Debt-laden banks, cynism-laden mindset
In terms of -laden and -ridden context, both have the same meaning, which is ''full of'' something. However, I can't choose which is more appropriate to use accordingly. Are there patterns in how to use them?
[Merriam-Webster]
1 : harassed, oppressed, or obsessed by —usually used in combination · guilt-ridden · debt-ridden
2 : excessively full of or supplied with —usually used in combination · slum-ridden
The first sense of ridden is negative, while the second sense simply means excessively full.
[Merriam-Webster]
: carrying a load or burden
This word only has a single sense given, and it doesn't have the same necessarily implication of excessiveness.
Laden, when used as a compound adjective, can be associated with negative things, but it's meant more as an intensifier than a negative in its own right.
For example:
At that time, the high-priced, veteran-laden Tigers saw the writing on the wall.
There is little negative about veterans, so it just means that there are a lot of them.
Or, to make up some sentences of my own:
It was a promise-laden job.
The child had hope-laden dreams.
Unlike ridden, laden is also used in a different, and more neutral way when not combined into a compound adjective:
heavily ladened with equipment
laden a ship with emergency medical supplies
The truck was laden with gravel.
