rife
Americanadjective
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- teeming, multitudinous, plenteous
- Antonyms:
- scarce
-
abounding (usually followed bywith ).
adjective
-
of widespread occurrence; prevalent or current
rumour was rife in the village
-
very plentiful; abundant
-
(foll by with) abounding (in)
a land rife with poverty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rife
before 1150; Middle English; Old English rīfe; cognate with Middle Dutch rijf abundant, Old Norse rīfr
Explanation
Use the adjective rife to mean "full of" or "widespread," especially when you're talking about something negative. If the lifeguard says the water is rife with jellyfish, you're not going to want to swim in it. Not to be confused with the word ripe (“fully developed”), rife means “abundant” or “prevalent.” Rife can follow the word it’s describing, as in “corruption was rife during his administration.” More commonly, however, rife comes before the word it modifies, accompanied by the preposition with, as in “the class was rife with yawns” or “her story was rife with inconsistencies.”
Vocabulary lists containing rife
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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This Week in Words: September 8 - 14, 2018
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The internet was rife with what sociologist Ray Oldenburg called “third places,” a space separate from home and work that encouraged social interaction and bred cohesion in communities.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
"There is the expectation amongst tax authorities that cryptocurrency investment is rife with tax evasion," says Neela Chauhan, partner at UHY Hacker Young - which carried out the FOI.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Kate Chatfield, executive director of the California Public Defenders Assn., said the confusion has led to a system that is rife with “punitive and vague consequences.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Similar programs created by local governments to encourage potential retirees to stay on the job have been costly and rife with abuse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
But the Creek was rife with gossips—particularly the Weekday Warriors, and if just one person told one friend who told one friend who told one friend who told the Eagle, everything would fall apart.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
