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 beginning of the hajj this week comes as speculation was rife over a potential agreement between Washington and Tehran.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Unemployment is rife, healthcare struggling and the aid that once provided the basics for millions has dwindled to a fraction of what it once was.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
“Man on Fire” does what thrillers do, accelerating into insanity toward the end of its seven episodes, becoming increasingly implausible, frenetic and rife with coincidence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
An Apple Maps service launched in 2012 was so rife with errors that Cook published a letter of apology.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
I don’t know yet, I am rife with unknowns, part of the hunt is to make the not-known known.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
