rife
adj.describes something bad or unpleasant that is very common or happens everywhere. You use it when a problem is spreading out of control.
adj.describing the widespread or prevalent occurrence of something undesirable. Often used predicatively with the preposition 'with' to indicate being full of something harmful.
“The city's government is rife with corruption.”
“Speculation about the company's potential bankruptcy was rife among investors after the CEO suddenly resigned.”
“The historical manuscript was rife with errors, suggesting that the scribe had been working in haste or lacked the necessary linguistic training to transcribe the original text accurately.”
Often follows the linking verb 'be' and is frequently followed by the preposition 'with'.
Rife has a negative connotation; it is used for problems, rumors, or diseases, not for pleasant things.
“Concern over the security of Europe's largest nuclear plant has been rife since Russia launched its full-scale war.”
“The hit TV show confirms that sports lore is rife with powerful hexes.”
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.