RIDDLED Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

riddled

verb

past tense of riddle

as in drilled

to make a hole or series of holes in several signs along the highway were riddled by buckshot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Koichi is happy to put his past as a kamakazi pilot behind him, although still riddled with guilt over still being alive. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026 Roads are riddled with potholes, tens of thousands of streetlights are out, and water and power bills are surging. — Jenny Jarvie follow, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026 The landscape is riddled with different access barriers, both individually and societally. — Kristen Lopez, IndieWire, 2 Nov. 2026 Kenya’s own top-flight football league and national teams, for instance, have been riddled with challenges ranging from leadership wrangles to payment delays. — Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2026 The fashion production line is riddled with nature dependencies like this. — Bella Webb, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026 The Butcher wins with a payment of livestock, only to find his Wicker Wife is riddled with sharp thorns. — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 28 Oct. 2026 The appellate court then lambasted their report as being riddled with flaws. — Justin Garcia, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026 The Warriors seem to have every season riddled with injuries. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riddled

Verb

Quinn altered his approach to organized team activities and training camp, and drilled situational football incessantly in an effort to emphasize the details.

— Tashan Reed, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2026
Next, Wyatt got a special teams boost when kicker Joshua Acevedo drilled a 41-yard field goal for the Chaparrals.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2026

Definition of drilled

Verb

Yet the film has established that the MacNeil home is suffused with evil.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
The bar serves up a lighter menu of small bites, like tempura black cod with ginger-sesame dipping sauce and succulent local halibut suffused with cilantro and basil.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of suffused

Verb

And Marchand learned that the savanna penetrated more deeply into the rainforest in south-central Ivory Coast.

— Thomas J Bassett, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2026
The Biden administration designated Tren de Aragua as a transnational criminal organization in 2024 following requests from Republicans who said the group’s members have penetrated the southern border.

— Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of penetrated

Verb

Prosecutors said Brown punched the firefighter in the chest, and that the firefighter responded by taking a Halligan bar — made of metal and typically used to break down or pry open doors — from the fire truck.

— Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
When a second waiter tried to pull Gonzalez off the victim, Gonzalez punched that worker in the face as well.

— Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of punched

Verb

Over the last three decades, Cohen has permeated global pop culture with a range of original characters.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026
Despite the uncharacteristically prompt arrivals, an unhurried air of European hospitality permeated the event, which was hosted by chairman Leonardo Ferragamo and creative director Maximilian Davis.

— Emily Tannenbaum, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of permeated

Verb

This is punctured by a wailing refrain from Lyons, whose runs serve as a continual anchor to the jazz tradition throughout his time with Taylor.

— Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2026
State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said the ammonia tank was found and did not appear to be punctured or leaking.

— Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of punctured

Verb

When the continents sank in the Cambrian, seas flooded in and buried the eroded surface.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
That group and other environmental organizations have also argued the chunk of the Sacramento Valley that could soon be flooded is composed of rich oak woodland habitat occupied by an untold number of wildlife species.

— Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of flooded

Browse Nearby Words

riddle

riddled

riddled (out)

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Riddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riddled. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of riddled

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

valorous

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes