Rife Meaning
/ɹaɪf/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjWidespread, common, prevalent, current (mainly of unpleasant or harmful things).
adjAbounding; present in large numbers, plentiful.
Sentence Examples
The village is rife with dirty shops selling cheapjack souvenirs.
Alcoholism is rife in some parts of Kabylie.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the poor neighborhood, crime was ____ and the people felt unsafe.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Corruption was ____ in the organization, with officials at every level taking advantage of their positions.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the poor neighborhood, crime was ____ and the people felt unsafe.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Corruption was ____ in the organization, with officials at every level taking advantage of their positions.