madden

American  

[mad-n] / ˈmæd n /

verb (used with object)

1. to anger or infuriate.

   The delays maddened her.

   Synonyms:

   annoy, vex, irritate, exasperate, inflame, anger, enrage, provoke

   Antonyms:

   mollify, calm

2. to make insane.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become mad; act as if mad; rage.

madden British  

/ ˈmædən /

verb

1. to make or become mad or angry

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Other Word Forms

• unmaddened adjective

Etymology

Origin of madden

First recorded in 1725–35; mad + -en ¹

Example Sentences

And still we were not allowed to sit: there was a last wait while the matron with maddening deliberateness checked off our documents against a list.

From Literature

Theirs is the maddening task of identifying dozens of notable artists sending radically different messages across a range of mediums, and then trying to make the work cohere in a single exhibition.

From The Wall Street Journal

She landed so close she drenched me with water but in her mad run she’d left the bank blind, wanting only to get in the water and away from the maddening flies.

From Literature

Simulation rooms were soundproofed to an almost maddening degree, and now that I was alone, I could hear my own heartbeat like someone was holding a microphone to my chest.

From Literature

It was error-strewn and maddening at times but they kept at it.

From BBC