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

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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 The administration is riddled with Wall Street executives and conservative economists, but that doesn’t seem to matter. — James K. Glassman, Forbes.com, 12 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 The multimillion-dollar renovation has been riddled with flawed installation, green algae bloom in the water, and alleged acts of vandalism from the beginning. — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 4 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 Regardless of what happens next, the near-term path is clearly riddled with obstacles for investors, according to the strategist. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026 Casing the Scene Back at the shooting scene, the white Jeep is riddled with bullets. — Sydney Brownstone, NPR, 2 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riddled

Verb

Five minutes later, Temwa Chawinga drilled a ball from outside the 18-yard box that bounced off a Ghana defender and into the net for the equalizer.

— PJ Green August 9, Kansas City Star, 10 Aug. 2026
In reality, the well may be drilled nearly 1 mile deep, and then curved by turning roughly 4 degrees every 100 feet.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 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

Last month, the image of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo being pinned to the ground, his torso pierced by a bullet, became the latest evocation of that history.

— Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
More than 180 bullets pierced, cracked or shattered windows in six buildings on campus.

— Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of pierced

Verb

The main reason that high-quality asset protection structures are penetrated is because they were misused or disregarded.

— Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Allow the grass to absorb the water, then water again until moisture has penetrated 4 to 6 inches below the soil surface.

— Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of penetrated

Verb

As the train doors were about to close, the pair exited the train, facing off against each other, and the assailant punched the victim in the face.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026
During the fight, Collins told detectives, his cousin punched his sister and threatened to kill them.

— Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of punched

Verb

In addition to the candles, the smells of foxgloves, peonies, and birch permeated the space in floral arrangements done by Philippa Craddock.

— Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026
The dark theme even permeated the kitchen, which featured a large black-and-white marble island surrounded by black cabinets.

— Joyce Chen, Architectural Digest, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of permeated

Verb

Upon hearing the news, East Germans flooded to the wall’s checkpoints, demanding to cross.

— Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026
By nearly every measure, President Claudia Sheinbaum is taking the fight to the cartels that have flooded America’s streets for decades.

— Chris Shays, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of flooded

Browse Nearby Words

riddle

riddled

riddled (out)

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“Riddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riddled. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of riddled

verb

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