rife

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 16, 2025 is "rife," an adjective that typically describes things that are very common and often unpleasant. Rife is commonly used in the phrase "rife with" to mean "copiously supplied" or "having a large amount of; full of." Unlike most adjectives, rife is not used before a noun. The word is often used to describe negative things, such as corruption or greed. However, it can also be used to describe neutral or good things, although this is less common. The word "rife" comes from the Old English adjective "rȳfe" and first appeared in written form in the 12th century. Its oldest meaning is synonymous with widespread and prevalent. Rife is often used alongside "with" to mean "abounding." The word tends to describe things one wishes weren't in such copious supply, similar to its synonym "lousy." Rife is an example of a word that has been handed down to us from Old English.