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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

riddled en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɹɪdəld/

Meanings

  1. (also, figuratively) Damaged throughout by holes.
    • When the legislation was debated by the House of Commons, Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said it was "riddled with holes", while former Conservative Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was "badly written". 2024 March 20, Conrad Landin, “"Farcical" Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act isn't working”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 25:
  2. Having (something) spread throughout, as if by an infestation. ▸ Taking a noun complement construed with the preposition with.
    • Riddled with guilt for having failed to oppose the project, Zac sacrifices himself by driving the truck into the lab, detonating the explosives at the same time as the Effect reoccurs. 2013, Barry Keith Grant, 100 Science Fiction Films, page 121:
    • Another anti-extremism organization, The Center for Countering Digital Hate, filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by X on Thursday, calling the suit “riddled with legal deficiencies”. 2023 November 17, Blake Montgomery, “White House condemns Elon Musk’s ‘abhorrent’ antisemitic tweets”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
    • The minister claimed that the old benefits system was riddled with abuse and fraud.
  3. Having (something) spread throughout, as if by an infestation. ▸ Taking a noun complement that precedes the adjective, forming a compound.
    • They took a swig each from an old bottle of sherry and ate some stale digestive biscuits sealed in a tin in the mouse-riddled cupboards. 2008, Joan London, The Good Parents, Random House Australia, →ISBN, page 235:
    • a hole-riddled sweater

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
more riddled Degree=Cmp lexicographic
most riddled Degree=Sup lexicographic

Coordinates

peppered

Synonyms

-ridden · lousy

riddled en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈɹɪdəld/

Meanings

  1. (form-of, participle, past) simple past and past participle of riddle
    form of riddle