Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. In widespread existence, practice, or use; increasingly prevalent.
- adj. Abundant or numerous.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Great in quantity or number; abundant; plentiful; numerous.
- Well supplied; abounding; rich; replete; filled: followed by with.
- Easy.
- Prevalent; current; in common use or acceptance.
- Publicly or openly known; hence, manifest; plain; clear.
- Abundantly; plentifully.
- Plainly; clearly.
- Currently; commonly; frequently.
- An obsolete form of rive.
Wiktionary
- adj. Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things).
- adj. Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful.
- adj. obsolete Having power; active; nimble.
- adv. Plentifully, abundantly.
GNU Webster's 1913
WordNet 3.0
- adj. most frequent or common
- adj. excessively abundant
Etymologies
- From Middle English, from Old English rīfe, rȳfe ("rife, abundant, frequent"), from Proto-Germanic *rīfijaz (“generous”), from Proto-Indo-European *rēip-, *rēib- (“motley”). Cognate with West Frisian rju ("rife, much"), Low German rive ("abundant, munificent"), Dutch rijf ("abundant, copious"), Norwegian riv ("rife"), Icelandic rífr ("rife, munificent"), Icelandic reifa ("to bestow"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English rȳfe. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“He glanced quizzically at his father, his expression rife with disappointment.”
“The city is once again rife with crime, and even the heroes are beginning to doubt whether Gotham can survive without its guardian.”
“I would appreciate if anyone can tell me how much my husbands rife is worth.”
“A scope mounted that high on a fine double rife is an abomination.”
“It's space, my dear," Bralla said, her expression rife with dread.”
“About three weeks before the battle, rumors were again rife of the coming of the rebel horde into our own fair and prosperous State.”
At Gettysburg, or, What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle: A True Narrative
“Wow...a one-off “intimidating” isn’t that a term rife with interpretations... comment and one is a felon?”
“McDonald’s is a fast food chain rife with contradictions.”
“I have a 45-70 1895 Marlin rife. it is bar none,. if not THEEEE most fun fire arm I have ever owned, .. it is close.”
“French political leaders say that the Mediator scandal has exposed the failings of the country's regulatory system, which they have described as rife with conflicts of interest and marked by a distinct apathy toward questions of public health.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘rife’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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MyWordList
for GRE Vocab Building
eccentricity, rife, epiphany, menial, assert, plod, scathing, petty, chum, dilatory, prolific, banal and 10 more...
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TECH - web application frameworks
object-oriented p..., ALGOL, validation, Erlang, markup language, Python, hibernate, framework, Apache, template, mapper, Java and 310 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 567 more...
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PART 2: 100 Word You Should Know To B...
Here are 40 advanced English words which should you be able to use them in a sentence will impress even educated native speakers! Perfect if you want to impress the examiner in examinations like: I...
jubilant, knell, lithe, lurid, maverick, maxim, meticulous, modicum, morose, myriad, nadir, nominal and 28 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1832 more...
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Lillyjames's Words
uncategorized words that I enjoy
replete, unabashed, dauntless, ubiquitous, fanged, blush, flush, murmur, mercurial, dishevelled, decrepit, raven and 146 more...
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Barron's 1100 words you need to know ...
amnesty, balk, blunt, dismantle, exonerate, expatriate, fiat, legion, mendacious, megalomania, nostalgia, parsimonious and 8 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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Vocab
Words that I come across, and go blank, or want to clarify.
nefarious, edifice, malevolent, ostensible, folderol, bauble, livid, amnesty, calculus, saddlery, maisonette, cuisse and 423 more...
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sillygoose's Words
nefarious, waffle, dilettante, love, obstreperous, suggestible, fodder, plucky, trajectory, eclectic, juggernaut, demure and 115 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for rife.
sonofgroucho Yea, verily. Jan 15, 2008
uselessness An odd word. It means common. English is rife with weird-sounding stuff like this. Aug 9, 2007
brtom This is the place, as well as I may guess,
Whence eev'n now the tumult of loud Mirth
Was rife, and perfet in my list'ning ear...
Milton, Comus Dec 15, 2006