W. E. B. Du Bois
Did you know?
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
Dawoud Abu Alkas, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025
Speculation was rife that Trump might oversee clearing a homeless encampment or even the apprehension of suspects after his patrol announcement.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
The sheer scale of the numbers tells us a couple of things: that the trading of academy players is rife, but also that clubs are foregoing assets with a high net worth, which sounds counter-intuitive.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
Speculation about who might succeed Daniel Craig as Bond is rife, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jacob Elordi, Tom Holland and Harris Dickinson among the hottest names to be thrown around.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rife
Cite this Entry
“Rife.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rife. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rife
adjective
Share