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 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 While these platforms may dole out advice that sounds confident, researchers warned that it can be riddled with problems. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 July 2026 The result is a process riddled with duplication, fragmentation and preventable delays. — John Bou, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 The song's music video, which was riddled with clever Easter eggs throughout, was released shortly after at the MTV VMAs. — Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026 Photos of Haaland on the tarmac posted to social media were riddled with homophobia and comments questioning the striker’s masculinity. — Teddy Brown, CNN Money, 30 June 2026 Was this simply a sinkhole in a cemetery dating to 1854 that is in an area with underground springs, suffers from an aging drainage system and is riddled with woodchuck tunnels? — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026 Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Bearman's body was riddled with shrapnel in the early hours of the war on March 1 when an Iranian drone slammed into his work station in Kuwait. — Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 24 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for riddled

Verb

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
Gauff drilled her footwork, working to optimize her explosive speed for a slippery surface on which hard stops and aggressive sprinting can often backfire.

— Douglas Robson, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of drilled

Verb

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
Lyrically, these 10 songs are suffused with a bittersweet feeling of nostalgia for early adulthood, as heard on the album’s title track.

— Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2026

Definition of suffused

Verb

Even Good’s maroon Honda Pilot, the windshield pierced by Ross’s bullet, was bundled away by the FBI into a storage facility before state law enforcement could get a look at it.

— Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are just slightly tender when pierced with a fork or knife.

— Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 July 2026

Definition of pierced

Verb

While most of that warming occurs near the surface, measurements show heat has also penetrated to depths of roughly 3,000 meters over recent decades.

— Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Ivory Coast has penetrated the box a bit more, but both sides have just one shot and zero on target.

— Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 June 2026

Definition of penetrated

Verb

Agents test the packages, but the sheriff’s office said the one found Wednesday was punctured and tainted by saltwater.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026
But even in the midst of those surges, the visible dissent of people such as Renee Good and Alex Pretti punctured that fantasy.

— Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026

Definition of punctured

Verb

Graphic videos of the shooting flooded social media and politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the killing – one example of the political violence roiling America in recent years.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
The pipes had clogged and the room was flooded with sewage coming up a drain.

— Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 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 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of riddled

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on riddled

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

loquacious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

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

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes