From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishriferife /raɪf/ adjective 1 [not before noun]COMMON if something bad or unpleasant is rife, it is very common Violent crime is rife in our inner cities.► see thesaurus at common2 → rife with something3 → run rife
Examples from the Corpus
rife• Pitt was a great philanthropist and wanted to stamp out smuggling, which was rife.• Reports of inhuman treatment, torture, and public execution for failure to conform with Kimism were rife.• Rumours have always been rife about Macari's interest in turf accountancy.• Drug abuse is rife despite a nationwide crackdown.• Bribery is rife in jockeying for good positions on the dealing floor of some firms.• Horror stories are rife of ex-cons setting up their own security companies, with all the obvious risks that entails.• Only later did I find out conjecture was rife that I was a government spy.• But rumour is rife that the reactor pot has already been buried.• Granted, expectation of the Messiah was rife throughout the Holy Land at the time.Origin rife Old English ryfe 