rife

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈraɪf/ UK /ɹaɪf/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like life /l/ vs /r/

Freq #30395

Meanings

1

adj
Widespread and common, usually of something bad or harmful.

Corruption was rife throughout the government at the time.
2

adj
Full of something, usually unpleasant.

The report was rife with errors and false claims.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · widespread and common,... prevalent widespread

More plentiful ubiquitous

Word family

Derived forms overriferifelyrifenessunrife

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”).

rife Middle English rīfe Old English *rīb Proto-West Germanic *rībaz Proto-Germanic *h₁reyp- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# rife

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈraɪf/
**IPA (UK):** /ɹaɪf/
**Frequency rank:** 30395

## Meanings
1. Widespread and common, usually of something bad or harmful.
2. Full of something, usually unpleasant.

## Examples
- Corruption was rife throughout the government at the time.
- The report was rife with errors and false claims.

## Synonyms
- plentiful
- ubiquitous
- widespread

## Derived Forms
- overrife
- rifely
- rifeness
- unrife

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rife
- Root: rīfe
- Root: *rīb
- Root: *rībaz
- Root: *h₁reyp-

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Rife is 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”). Important recorded forms include rife (Middle English), rīfe (Old English), *rīb (Proto-West Germanic), *rībaz (Proto-Germanic), and *h₁reyp- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include widespread and common, usually of something bad or harmful and full of something, usually unpleasant. The wider family includes derived forms such as overrife, rifely, rifeness, and unrife.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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