madden
Americanverb (used with object)
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maddens,
present (3rd person singular)
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maddened,
past participle, past
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maddening
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
maddens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
maddened,
past participle, past
-
maddening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maddensimple
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maddenssimple
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have maddenedperfect
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has maddenedperfect
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am maddeningprogressive
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are maddeningprogressive
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is maddeningprogressive
-
have been maddeningperfect progressive
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has been maddeningperfect progressive
Past
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maddenedsimple
-
had maddenedperfect
-
was maddeningprogressive
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were maddeningprogressive
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had been maddeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of madden
Explanation
Use the verb madden when something exasperates you or drives you up a wall. Terrible traffic when you're late for an appointment is sure to madden you. If something makes you mad or gets on your nerves, it maddens you. If your dogs tend to madden you, it means that they drive you crazy. When you madden your dogs, you get them so riled up that they run around the house barking. The earliest use of the verb was literally "to make mad or insane," though by the early 1800's it meant "to drive to distraction."
Vocabulary lists containing madden
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Anger (verb)
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The Sound and the Fury: Synonyms for "Anger"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Written and directed by the Australian actor Frances O’Connor, making a vibrant feature filmmaking debut, it will surely madden sticklers for accuracy, which is all to the good.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
Not the least of Michael’s gifts is the ability to madden other minds.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 12, 2018
The glacier-paced interactions of the actors here may initially madden you; by the end, the sense of the oppressive weight that controls their motions breaks your heart.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2016
The numb wait is their negotiating style: a heavy, frozen, wordless impassivity designed to madden and exhaust the people across the table.
From Time Magazine Archive
They must have been things meant not to quiet it but to madden it.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
As warmer spotlights go, “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” may never fully expunge what maddens and mystifies about the untimely end of troubled souls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
They're lashing out at the idea of competence that maddens them.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2025
Francis has a tendency for making off-the-cuff public remarks, a trait that maddens both supporters and critics alike.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2020
Nothing is ever certain with Klinsmann, whose unpredictability maddens U.S. supporters and catches his own players off guard.
From Washington Post ● May 28, 2016
He despairs of us, all of us, including the model, whose surreptitious gum chewing maddens him.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
De Gaulle maddened his British hosts, and particularly Churchill, with his ceaseless complaints and ingratitude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Gertrude never quite comes into focus, but the pathos of Ophelia, maddened by grief, is enhanced by the simple yet forceful way Izzard helplessly pounds her chest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
Local officials around the state say they have been similarly maddened.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 2021
The pope’s penchant for speaking in an off-the-cuff manner has maddened not only supporters and critics, but also his staff in the Roman bureaucracy.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2020
Dessie’s eyes were milky and crazy, like those of a maddened horse.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
There is some reason behind the maddening format, introduced after France – who were supposed to host a 16-team men's World Cup last summer – pulled out because of money troubles.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
For the auto industry, this AM radio obsession is maddening.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
It had been a maddening couple of months as Ohtani battled injuries, slid down the batting order and failed to produce when the Dodgers needed him most — in the postseason.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
In less-skilled hands, this discursive approach might have been maddening.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Deep bronze booms and silver chiming pounded through his skull, a maddening cacophony of noise that grew ever louder until it seemed as if his head would explode.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
