riddled

[rid-ld]

adjective

1. filled with, and often thoroughly weakened by, something undesirable (used in combination).

   For decades taxpayers subsidized this fault-riddled nuclear plant, with its defective reactors and substandard construction.

2. pierced in many places (usually used in combination).

   His bullet-riddled body was found two days later.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of riddle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of riddled¹

riddle ² ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Large sandbags protect critical infrastructure, some riddled with holes from shrapnel.

Read more on Barron's

During the 1920s and ’30s, nonlinear narratives of this nature would come to be seen as models of the modern mind: a dark, unknowable place riddled with unconscious desires and perverse complexes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Beal’s two seasons in Phoenix were riddled by injury as well.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The models used by the rating agencies were riddled with these sorts of opportunities.

Read more on Literature

The truck incinerated in the battle was riddled with bullet holes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• addled 
• ruined www.thesaurus.com
• withered www.thesaurus.com