rife
[rahyf]
adjective
of common or frequent occurrence; prevalent; in widespread existence, activity, or use: Crime is rife in the slum areas of our cities.
current in speech or report: Rumors are rife that the government is in financial difficulty.
abundant, plentiful, or numerous.
abounding (usually followed by with).
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RELATED WORDS
prevalent, alive, plentiful, popular, abundant, rampant, replete, abounding, common, current, epidemic, extensive, frequent, general, many, multitudinous, numerous, prevailing, profuse, raging
Nearby words
Origin of rife
before 1150; Middle English; Old English rīfe; cognate with Middle Dutch rijf abundant, Old Norse rīfr
SYNONYMS FOR rife
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for rife
rife
adjective (postpositive)
Word Origin for rife
Old English rīfe; related to Old Norse rīfr generous, Middle Dutch rīve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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rife
Old English rife "abundant, common, prevalent," from Proto-Germanic *rif- (cf. Old Norse rifr, Swedish river, Norwegian riv, Middle Dutch riif, Middle Low German rive "abundant, generous"), said to be from PIE root *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" "The prevalence of the word in early southern texts is in favour of its being native in English, rather than an adoption from Scandinavian." [OED]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper