riddled

verb

past tense of riddle
1
as in drilled
to make a hole or series of holes in several signs along the highway were riddled by buckshot

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in suffused
to spread throughout the newspaper exposé revealed a gaming commission that is riddled with corruption

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of riddled Projected on a large screen was a map riddled with bizarre errors. — ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026 The Liberty entered 2026 with title expectations, and Stewart looked poised to contend for her third MVP award after a 2025 season riddled with nagging injuries. — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Twelve days later, Rajab’s body was found in a car riddled with bullets. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 Current legal avenues are also riddled with loopholes, as Big Tech fights them in court, claiming that some laws infringe on free speech. — Allyson Kapin, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Worse than that, real-world sensor data is often so ambiguous, incomplete, and riddled with noise that the only way to describe it is borderline chaotic. — David Szondy august 11, New Atlas, 11 Aug. 2026 But the squabble over the Brooklyn Village development is another mark in the neighborhood’s history that’s riddled with government interference and disinvestment. — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2026 Second Line was my mom — her interludes riddled the album with her depiction of what is meant to be a Creole woman in New Orleans. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026 Although 5-MeO-DMT can produce experiences of overwhelming intensity, often interpreted as encounters with ultimate truth, the history of toad smoking is riddled with false leads and misinformation. — Kimon De Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riddled
  1. drilled
  2. suffused
  3. pierced
  4. penetrated
  5. punched
  6. permeated
  7. punctured
  8. flooded
Verb
  • This is out of kilter with the other younger referees coming through, who either lack personality or have been drilled not to show it.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • And when teammate Harrison Butker drilled a 69-yard field goal, Mahomes literally jumped for joy during the game in Tampa, Florida.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of drilled
Verb
  • After setting her wildly popular debut The Tiger's Wife in a Balkans suffused with myth and magic, the author turned in subsequent books to the Old West and a city redolent of New York.
    — Colin Dwyer, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The threat is still there, suffused into the air like a memory, but for a time the choice between love and survival no longer feels mutually exclusive to Nino and Yasmina.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
Definition of suffused
Verb
  • Investigators believe the bullet that pierced the restaurant window was fired from inside a passing vehicle on Vista Village Drive.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Poy was wounded in a second land mine explosion that pierced his face and body with shrapnel and killed three of his colleagues.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of pierced
Verb
  • On August 7, the Oregon governor’s office confirmed hackers had penetrated the core control systems of an Oregon water district.
    — John Caruso, Hartford Courant, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The Mughals were heavily outnumbered by the Afghans but had penetrated the opposing army from the side and rear, causing great losses in Hemu’s army.
    — Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of penetrated
Verb
  • The student also punched the guard in the head, according to the statement.
    — Kathy McCormack, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The 49ers’ defensive highlight came when Warner, of course, punched a ball free from tight end David Njoku.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of punched
Verb
  • My work is more permeated by philosophical and spiritual questions.
    — Robbie Griffiths, NPR, 9 Aug. 2026
  • At first, the smell permeated the bedrooms, bringing with it sleepless nights.
    — Celina Tebor, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of permeated
Verb
  • The solar panel that powers the camera was punctured and shattered.
    — Haley Parsley August 22, Sacbee.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The barrel had been punctured several times and dumped far offshore, Spencer said, but whoever discarded the remains likely never imagined the reservoir’s shoreline would one day retract hundreds of feet.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of punctured
Verb
  • As men, women and children flooded across the border between Morocco and Spain, into the autonomous city of Ceuta at the end of July, European populists and anti-immigrant politicians capitalized on the shocking images of human desperation.
    — Vasco Cotovio, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • And now, since Panettiere's death, fans have again flooded Neutrogena's social media.
    — Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of flooded

Browse Nearby Words

riddle
riddled
riddled (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Riddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riddled. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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