- comparative of mad.
madder
1 Americannoun
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madders
plural
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any plant of the genus Rubia, especially the climbing R. tinctorum, of Europe, having open clusters of small, yellowish flowers.
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the root of this plant, formerly used in dyeing.
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the dye or coloring matter itself.
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a color produced by such a dye.
adjective
noun
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any of several rubiaceous plants of the genus Rubia, esp the Eurasian R. tinctoria, which has small yellow flowers and a red fleshy root
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the root of this plant
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a dark reddish-purple dye formerly obtained by fermentation of this root; identical to the synthetic dye, alizarin
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a red lake obtained from alizarin and an inorganic base; used as a pigment in inks and paints
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of madder
before 1000; Middle English mad ( d ) er, Old English mæd ( e ) re; cognate with Old Norse mathra, Old High German matara
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:
"I'm mad about the price, but I'm even madder about why it's so high," the 28-year-old told AFP.
From Barron's ● May 2, 2026
"And of course now I'm even madder than I was before because I've thought of little else now for two years."
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
In the mad rush to get on the plane first, things are getting even madder.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2024
Even madder than our list of the best TV shows on Netflix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
For Red: I know you are mad at me, and this might make you madder, but I am going to see the witch.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Among the madders in your handbook scarlet madder does not appear; I hope it is not a treacherous colour; I use it freely, but only mixture with other dark colours, to give them richness.
From The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton Volume II by Mrs. Russell Barrington
If the madders are in themselves sound colours, as I have always understood them to be, how do they lose their permanence by burning?
From The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton Volume II by Mrs. Russell Barrington
Opaque and Transparent Colors.—Some colors, like the madders, have a jelly-like consistency when mixed with oil, others, the earths among them, are dense and opaque.
From The Painter in Oil A complete treatise on the principles and technique necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors by Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
The French madders are in a state of very fine powder, containing one half their weight of gum, sugar, salts, and other soluble substances, which water speedily dissolves.
From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Thomas Salter
By reference to the plates you will see that the madders are practically the same as the lakes in color when first used.
From The Painter in Oil A complete treatise on the principles and technique necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors by Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
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.
