maddening

[mad-n-ing]

adjective

1. driving to madness or frenzy.

   a maddening thirst.

2. infuriating or exasperating.

   his maddening indifference to my pleas.

3. raging; furious.

   a maddening wind.

ˈmaddening

/ ˈmædənɪŋ /

adjective

1. serving to send mad

2. extremely annoying; exasperating

Other Word Forms

• maddeningly adverb
• maddeningness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of maddening¹

First recorded in 1735–45; madden + -ing ²

Example Sentences

But here’s the secret that makes this dynamic feel less maddening: people drift into the kitchen for very different reasons.

Read more on Salon

“Yes, but there is more to it than that,” he said, with maddening mysteriousness.

Read more on Literature

He found it maddeningly difficult to read people’s nonverbal signals; and their verbal signals he often took more literally than they meant them.

Read more on Literature

He felt that a maddening finger was poking him in the side, and that the only way to make it stop was by plunging the hemostat in the nurse assistant’s slender neck.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 23-year-old has gone from being an unquestionably talented winger, but sometimes maddeningly inconsistent, to the brilliant catalyst behind so much of their best moments this season.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• aggravating 
• annoying 
• exasperating www.thesaurus.com
• frustrating www.thesaurus.com
• infuriating 
• troubling www.thesaurus.com