rife en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English rife, from Old English rīfe, rȳfe (“rife, abundant, frequent”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīb, from Proto-Germanic *rībaz (“generous”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to tear (off), rip”). Cognate with West Frisian rju (“rife, much”), Dutch rijf (“abundant, copious”), Low German rive (“abundant, munificent”), Icelandic rífur (“rife, munificent”), Faroese ríviligur (“plentiful, abundant”), Faroese rívan (“abundantly”), Icelandic reifa (“to bestow”).
Meanings
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Widespread, common, prevalent, current (mainly of unpleasant or harmful things).
Rumors were rife that the factory was about to shut down.
The 'denominational considerations' mentioned below relate, of course, to anti-Semitic feeling, which was already rife in Vienna during the last years of the nineteenth century.
1900, Sigmund Freud, translated by James Strachey, The Interpretation of Dreams: Avon Books, page 170:BRB engineers, it is known, have a warm regard for the Ventura range and speculation is rife that it may feature more widely in future BR dieselisation programmes.
1964 May, R. K. Evans, “The Ventura—Paxman's high-speed engine”, in Modern Railways, page 329:Smallpox was rife after the siege had been lifted.
She was afterwards Lady Keith; and the mention of this name in the tale, as it were by mere accident, fixes the era of it in the reign of James the Fourth, at the very time that fairies, brownies, and witches, were at the rifest in Scotland.
1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet:Before the plague of London, inflammations of the lungs were rife and mortal.
1712, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Effects of Air on Human Bodies:The tumult of loud mirth was rife.
1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
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Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful.
Seeds are rife in a watermelon.
Red deer are rife in these woodlands.
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Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things).
Many post-colonial governments were rife with lawlessness and corruption.
They will have to reflect on a seventh successive defeat in a European final while Chelsea try to make sense of an eccentric season rife with controversy and bad feeling but once again one finishing on an exhilarating high.
2013 May 15, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:
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(obsolete) Having power; active; nimble.
What! I am rife a little yet.
1661, John Webster, William Rowley, A Cure for a Cuckold:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| rifer | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| rifest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
rifeness · unrife · overrife · rifely
Synonyms
ubiquitous · fraught · pandemic (widespread) · filled (abounding, plentiful)
Translations (36)
nl alom (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · no herja av (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · fi levinnyt (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · nl welig (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fr étendu (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · cs plný (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · it diffuso (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · bg гъмжащ (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · fi pullollaan (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · ru изоби́лующий (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · fi yleinen (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fi lukuisa (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · fi täynnä (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · eo abunda (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · cmn 充斥 (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · no gjennomsyrt (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · fr abondant (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · ru распространённый (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · nl welig (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · ru киша́щий (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · ja 満ちた (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · fr répandu (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fi täysi (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · cs oplývající (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · nl schering en inslag (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fi runsas (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · cs hojný (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · es extendido (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fr criblé (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · bg широко разпространен (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · cs běžný (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fr sévi (Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things)) · es abundante (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · bg изобилстващ (Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful) · cs rozšířený (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things)) · fi tavallinen (Widespread, common (especially of unpleasant or harmful things))