- present participle of madden.
maddening
Americanadjective
-
driving to madness or frenzy.
a maddening thirst.
-
infuriating or exasperating.
his maddening indifference to my pleas.
-
raging; furious.
a maddening wind.
adjective
-
serving to send mad
-
extremely annoying; exasperating
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of maddening
Explanation
Maddening things are extremely irritating: they make you mad. Some drivers have the maddening habit of following other cars too closely on the highway. If something annoys you a lot, it's maddening. You might try to ignore the maddening tune your sister keeps whistling, or decide to leave a movie half way through because of the maddening acting style of its leading man. The adjective maddening comes from the less-common verb madden, "annoy someone," or "drive someone insane." Both words are rooted in the Old English gemædde, "out of one's mind."
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.
Zwick: The book has a bunch of cool stories that are fun to read, inspiring in a lot of cases, and sometimes maddening.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
The kid has discovered a maddening form of power: forcing an entire room to participate in a distinction nobody else needed.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
The Moores are in the same maddening predicament as hundreds of Palisades and Eaton fire survivors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Ford told reporters on Monday that the neighbourly squabbles can be maddening.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
It was a maddening, chaotic time for Maniac.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions 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.
