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 Wells' parents say the tragedy is riddled with conflicting stories and missing details. — ABC News, 22 July 2026 Musk accused Nolan of hiring a diverse cast to pander to the Oscars in hopes of winning awards, and some of his posts were riddled with misinformation about diversity standards required to be met for Academy Awards consideration. — Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 Greek mythology is riddled with humans who become immortal, many as punishment for tangling with the gods. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 21 July 2026 Tigers — Another team that was injury-riddled and looked out of it, 44-52 as late as June 28, and almost certain to trade Tarik Skubal. — Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026 These structures are riddled with microscopic pores that behave like molecular sponges, soaking up water vapor and releasing it again with minimal fuss. — New Atlas, 16 July 2026 McCullers made the 2017 All-Star team and finished seventh in Cy Young voting in 2021, but his career has been riddled with injury after being taken with the 41st pick of the 2012 draft. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 15 July 2026 But local hoteliers say the proposal is riddled with problems, would unfairly impact hotels more than other businesses and might violate state law by applying flat fees to hotels instead of per-worker charges. — David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026 Pool project has been plagued by problems The pool’s renovation has been riddled with problems. — Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riddled
  1. drilled
  2. suffused
  3. pierced
  4. penetrated
  5. punched
  6. permeated
  7. punctured
  8. flooded
Verb
  • Unheralded Ryan Fox of New Zealand drilled a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win by one, capping an eventful championship and a major season not short of surprises.
    — Justin Ray, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • If that weren’t enough, after Toronto made a hoop, Salaun drilled another triple to clinch the win, putting her thumb and two fingers in the air on her way back down the court.
    — Michael Nowels, Mercury News, 9 July 2026
Definition of drilled
Verb
  • 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
  • Good binoculars will reveal a score of stars in this little group, while long-exposure observatory photographs show about 1000 in the area — all suffused in great clouds and streamers of nebulous light.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of suffused
Verb
  • According to the artist who made it, John Buckley, and the owner of the home pierced by the shark, Bill Heine, the work was meant as a protest against the recent bombing of Libya, nuclear power and nuclear war, among other things.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 2026
  • In his season of DWTS, Irwin opened up about navigating grief after the death of his father Steve Irwin, who died in 2006 after being pierced by a stingray barb.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026
Definition of pierced
Verb
  • If the droppings have penetrated the paint itself, however, wet sanding or repainting may be necessary.
    — Rachel Silva, Martha Stewart, 25 July 2026
  • Karlsson claimed that she was later taken to meet Marie in Paris, who allegedly digitally penetrated her.
    — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 22 July 2026
Definition of penetrated
Verb
  • Brown was accused of twice hitting the victim with a glass bottle to his head while Akinlolu punched him.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 24 July 2026
  • Lambert then punched Powell multiple times in the head, the affidavit says.
    — Grant Lancaster, Arkansas Online, 23 July 2026
Definition of punched
Verb
  • Prediction markets have permeated the worlds of sports, politics, and reality television shows.
    — Elaine Chen, STAT, 16 July 2026
  • All these features also permeated the air in the last giddy days of 1999.
    — James Berman, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of permeated
Verb
  • More broadly, Iran’s attacks have also punctured confidence and security in the Gulf, disrupting tourism and air travel in a key global transport node, and prompting some expats to flee.
    — Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • Three people were arrested Saturday after Antioch police officers found them with guns and nearly two dozen ounces of marijuana outside a car punctured with bullet holes, police said.
    — Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 20 July 2026
Definition of punctured
Verb
  • Whether driven by admiration or nostalgia for his first spell, the club’s fans flooded the comments section welcoming back their hero.
    — Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 24 July 2026
  • Chinese companies, including DeepSeek, have previously flooded the market with more affordable, open models that typically lag behind the most cutting-edge software from US rivals but nonetheless can undercut them on price.
    — Michael Shepard, Fortune, 24 July 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 28 Jul. 2026.

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