riddled

Etymology

verb

1. simple past and past participle of riddle

adj

1. Damaged throughout by holes.
2. Having (something) spread throughout, as if by an infestation.
   1. Taking a noun complement construed with the preposition with.
      Coordinate term: peppered with
      The minister claimed that the old benefits system was riddled with abuse and fraud.
   2. Taking a noun complement that precedes the adjective, forming a compound.
      a hole-riddled sweater
      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, page 235