riddled

comparative more riddled · superlative most riddled

1. alsofigurativelyDamaged throughout by holes.

   When the legislation was debated by the House of Commons, Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said it was "riddled with holes", while former Conservative Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said it was "badly written".

   2024 March 20, Conrad Landin, “"Farcical" Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act isn't working”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 25

2. Having (something) spread throughout, as if by an infestation.
   1. Taking a noun complement construed with the preposition with.

      The minister claimed that the old benefits system was riddled with abuse and fraud.

      2 more examples

      Riddled with guilt for having failed to oppose the project, Zac sacrifices himself by driving the truck into the lab, detonating the explosives at the same time as the Effect reoccurs.

      2013, Barry Keith Grant, 100 Science Fiction Films, page 121

      Another anti-extremism organization, The Center for Countering Digital Hate, filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by X on Thursday, calling the suit “riddled with legal deficiencies”.

      2023 November 17, Blake Montgomery, “White House condemns Elon Musk’s ‘abhorrent’ antisemitic tweets”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

      Synonyms: lousy

   2. Taking a noun complement that precedes the adjective, forming a compound.

      a hole-riddled sweater

      1 more example

      They took a swig each from an old bottle of sherry and ate some stale digestive biscuits sealed in a tin in the mouse-riddled cupboards.

      2008, Joan London, The Good Parents, Random House Australia, →ISBN, page 235

      Synonyms: -ridden

1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of riddle