Adjacent Words

Rife definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RIFE, a. [Heb. to multiply.]
Prevailing; prevalent. It is used of epidemic diseases.
The plague was then rife in Hungary.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: most frequent or common; "prevailing winds" [syn: prevailing, prevalent, predominant, dominant, rife]
2: excessively abundant [syn: overabundant, plethoric, rife]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English ryfe, from Old English ry?fe; akin to Old Norse r?fr abundant Date: 12th century 1. prevalent especially to an increasing degree <suspicion and cruelty were rife — W. E. B. DuBois> 2. abundant, common 3. copiously supplied ; abounding — usually used with with <rife with rumors> • rife adverb • rifely adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

predic.adj. 1 of common occurrence; widespread. 2 (foll. by with) abounding in; teeming with. Derivatives: rifeness n. Etymology: OE ryfe prob. f. ON rífr acceptable f. reifa enrich, reifr cheerful

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rife Rife, a. [AS. r[=i]f abundant, or Icel. r[=i]fr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.] 1. Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. Before the plague of London, inflammations of the lungs were rife and mortal. --Arbuthnot. Even now the tumult of loud mirth Was rife, and perfect in may listening ear. --Milton. 2. Having power; active; nimble. [Obs.] What! I am rife a little yet. --J. Webster. -- Rife"ly, adv. -- Rife"ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you say that something, usually something bad, is rife in a place or that the place is rife with it, you mean that it is very common. Speculation is rife that he will be sacked... Hollywood soon became rife with rumors. ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Prevailing, prevalent, abundant, common. 2. Replete, abounding in, well supplied.

Moby Thesaurus

abounding, abundant, affluent, afloat, alive with, all-sufficing, ample, aplenty, average, bandied about, besetting, bottomless, bounteous, bountiful, bristling, bruited about, bursting, common, copious, crawling, crowded, crowding, current, diffuse, dominant, effuse, epidemic, exhaustless, extravagant, exuberant, fat, fertile, flush, full, galore, generous, going about, going around, in circulation, in plenty, in profusion, in quantity, in the air, in the news, inexhaustible, jam-packed, jammed, lavish, liberal, luxuriant, made public, many, maximal, much, normal, numerous, opulent, ordinary, overflowing, packed, pandemic, plenitudinous, plenteous, plentiful, plenty, popular, populous, predominant, predominating, prevailing, prevalent, prodigal, productive, profuse, profusive, proliferating, prolific, rampant, regnant, reigning, replete, reported, rich, riotous, routine, ruling, rumored, running, running over, standard, stereotyped, studded, superabundant, swarming, talked about, teeming, thick, thick as hail, thick with, thick-coming, thronged, thronging, usual, wealthy, well-found, well-furnished, well-provided, well-stocked, whispered, whispered about, wholesale, widespread