W. E. B. Du Bois
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English is rife with words that have been handed down to us from Old English—among them, rife. It comes from the Old English adjective rȳfe and first appeared in written form in the 12th century. Its oldest meaning, still in use today, is synonymous with widespread and prevalent; it's more likely, however, than either of those to describe negative things, as in “corruption and greed were rife in City Hall.” Most often, rife is used alongside with to mean “abounding.” Although rife can be appropriately used for good or neutral things in this sense (and all senses), as in the first sentence of this paragraph, like its synonym and fellow Old English descendant lousy (from the Old English noun lūs, meaning “louse”), it tends to describe things one wishes weren’t in such copious supply.
Examples of rife in a Sentence
Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Rumor-mongering is rife, with anyone and everyone weighing in on contract negotiations that are supposed to be confidential.
—Joelle Diderich, WWD, 4 Mar. 2025
Wall Street investors regularly financed slaving expeditions, and bribery of customs officers and juries was rife.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
Speculation about when the season would move ahead has been rife since Sky Deutschland pulled out of original content in July 2023.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Rife.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rife. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
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rife
adjective
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