rife

[rahyf]

adjective

1. of common or frequent occurrence; prevalent; in widespread existence, activity, or use.

   Crime is rife in the slum areas of our cities.

2. current in speech or report.

   Rumors are rife that the government is in financial difficulty.

3. abundant, plentiful, or numerous.

   Synonyms: teeming, multitudinous, plenteous
   Antonyms: scarce

4. abounding (usually followed bywith ).

rife

/ raɪf /

adjective

1. of widespread occurrence; prevalent or current

   rumour was rife in the village

2. very plentiful; abundant

3. (foll by with) abounding (in)

   a land rife with poverty

Other Word Forms

• rifely adverb
• rifeness noun
• overrife adjective
• unrife adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rife¹

before 1150; Middle English; Old English rīfe; cognate with Middle Dutch rijf abundant, Old Norse rīfr

Word History and Origins

Origin of rife¹

Old English rīfe ; related to Old Norse rīfr generous, Middle Dutch rīve

Example Sentences

But Dillon’s memoir, as the author notes, was also rife with fictions.

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Mr. Grewal asserts that Delaware’s trial court is “rife with unpredictability.”

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He sees speculation as being rife in the artificial-intelligence theme, noting that markets tend to price in big transformations “quickly and excessively,” as it did with the internet in the early 1990s.

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The executive shuffle comes at a critical juncture for the industry—rife with uncertainty over consumer demand and questions over how artificial intelligence will change shopping behavior.

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“Delaware’s Chancery Court in recent years has been rife with unpredictable outcomes,” Grewal writes, adding that efforts by the Delaware legislature to fix inconsistent outcomes aren’t an efficient or sustainable solution.

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Related Words

• abundant 
• alive 
• plentiful 
• popular 
• prevalent 
• rampant 
• replete