rife
/ɹaɪf/adjective, adverb
rife is spelled R-I-F-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, rife means “Widespread, common, prevalent, current (mainly of unpleasant or harmful things)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rife?
| Letters | 4: R-I-F-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rife?
Rife appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rife?
- UK /ɹaɪf/
Rife has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-rife.ogg, En-au-rife.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rife?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as rife (/aɪf/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: fire, refi, reif, rief.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rife
- rifer comparative
- rifest superlative
- more rife comparative
- most rife superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rife mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Widespread, common, prevalent, current (mainly of unpleasant or harmful things).
Smallpox was rife after the siege had been lifted.
- 2
Abounding; present in large numbers, plentiful.
Red deer are rife in these woodlands.
- 3
Full of (mostly unpleasant or harmful things).
Many post-colonial governments were rife with lawlessness and corruption.
- 4
obsoleteHaving power; active; nimble.
adverb
- 1
Plentifully, abundantly.
The snowdrops grow rife on the slopes of Mount Pembroke.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rife in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étendu, répandu , abondant , criblé, sévi |
| Spanish | extendido , abundante , abundantemente, copiosamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rife come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).