Word Confusion: Rife versus Riff

Posted May 26, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
22 Dec 2022

I got held up by “Well that statement was riff with sarcasm.”

I assume the author meant that the statement was full of sarcasm, meaning rife, i.e., abundant, full of.

Yeah, there’s a difference between rife and riff. While I do enjoy the abundance of rife, it has negative connotations for me. I much prefer a good riff in music or comic comments.

You may also want to compare “Rife versus Riff” with “Riffle versus Rifle“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Rife Riff

Dense smoke frames USS West Virginia and USS Tennessee.

Attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 Dec 1941, Honolulu, Hawaii, from “Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal”, an article by Vice Admiral Homer N. Wallin courtesy of Naval History and Heritage Command.

This surprise attack left the people rife with fear and anger.

An album cover with a creamy background and a cartoon figure of a Frenchman in a brown suit and hat, clapping his hands and strolling past a deep peach Eiffel Tower with blue clouds in the sky

Jazzy Frenchy” was composed by Benjamin Tissot (also known as Bensound) courtesy of BenSound.

A cheery riff created by Bensound.

Part of Grammar:
Adjective, predicative; Adverb Noun; Noun, proper; Verb, intransitive

Plural for the noun: riffs
Plural for the proper noun: Riffs, Riffi
As a collective (proper) noun: Riff
Gerund: riffing

Third person present verb: riffs
Past tense or past participle: riffed
Present participle: riffing

Adjective:
[Especially of something undesirable or harmful] Of common occurrence

  • Widespread
  • Prevalent
  • Current

Very plentiful

  • Abundant
  • [Followed by in or with] Abounding
  • [rife with] Full of

Adverb:
In an unchecked or widespread manner

Noun:
[Music] A short repeated phrase in popular music and jazz, typically used as an introduction or refrain in a song

  • A piece based on such a phrase

A monologue or spoken improvisation, especially a humorous one, on a particular subject

  • A succinct usually witty comment

A distinct variation or take

Proper noun:
A member of the Berber people living in Er Rif in northern Morocco

Verb, intransitive:
To perform, deliver, or make use of a riff

  • Perform a monologue or spoken improvisation on a particular subject
Examples:
Adjective:
Male chauvinism was rife in medicine in those days.

The streets were rife with rumor and fear.

Rumor was rife in the village.

The land was rife with poverty.

Adverb:
Speculation ran rife that he was an arms dealer.

Speculation has run rife on all sorts of mad theories about who will get up in each state.

Rumors ran wild and rife but the band would not play together again until 1993.

Noun:
It was a brilliant guitar riff.

People naturally respond to the diminutive sax man’s keening sound, funky rhythms, and bluesy riffs.

Your subsequent riffs on the same themes fail to amuse.

“It was a disturbing riff on the Cinderella story.” – Daria Donnelly

Proper noun:
The nature of the Riff War is still controversial among historians today.

The Riff launched the conflict in 1921.

The Riff Independence Movement is a charter member of the Organization of Emerging African States.

Verb, intransitive:
The other horns would be riffing behind him.

He also riffs on racism and the economy.

Even the former stars of soupy boy bands have taken up riffing.

Derivatives:
Adjective: overrife, Riffian, unrife
Adverb: rifely
Noun: rifeness, Riffian
History of the Word:
Late Old English rȳfe, probably from the Old Norse rīfr meaning acceptable. First recorded in 1930–35, it is perhaps an abbreviation of refrain, as in the musical accompaniment for a refrain.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Rife versus Riff

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: rife, riff

Lexico.com: rife, riff

Merriam-Webster: riff

“Riff.” Wikipedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_separatism_in_North_Africa>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Music Dream by Bill Smith is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.

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