Synonyms
Examples of maddening in a Sentence
He has a maddening habit of interrupting other people.
She shows a maddening inability to control her children.
Recent Examples on the Web
Twee, snarky, meta, manic, maddening and yet eventually poignant, the play is a moving target, its tone as hard to pin down as its facts.
—
Jesse Green, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2023
The effect of this combination, a mash-up of urgency and complacency — imperturbable emergency? — is dreamlike and a bit maddening, perhaps like Cassandra shouting her warning to the gullible Trojans.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023
Laundry may be tiring, but apron laundry is maddening.
—Emma Laperruque, Bon Appétit, 25 Oct. 2023
What’s maddening about the T-Swizzle fad is how corporate media promote it without question.
—Armond White, National Review, 18 Oct. 2023
The Padres showed a pulse down the stretch, but the inconsistency and lack of urgency earlier in the season made the late push more maddening than buoying.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023
This, to me, is the most maddening aspect of the Trump era.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 31 July 2023
Matthew Perry, who died Saturday at age 54, was a poster boy for another kind of recovery, the maddening and often helpless slog of chronic relapse.
—Sarah Hepola, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2023
Artists who paint themselves making art more often capture the dynamism of form giving, not the maddening but necessary struggle with time that precedes the making and finishing of an image.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023
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Jesse Green, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2023
The effect of this combination, a mash-up of urgency and complacency — imperturbable emergency? — is dreamlike and a bit maddening, perhaps like Cassandra shouting her warning to the gullible Trojans.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023
Laundry may be tiring, but apron laundry is maddening.
—Emma Laperruque, Bon Appétit, 25 Oct. 2023
What’s maddening about the T-Swizzle fad is how corporate media promote it without question.
—Armond White, National Review, 18 Oct. 2023
The Padres showed a pulse down the stretch, but the inconsistency and lack of urgency earlier in the season made the late push more maddening than buoying.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023
This, to me, is the most maddening aspect of the Trump era.
—Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 31 July 2023
Matthew Perry, who died Saturday at age 54, was a poster boy for another kind of recovery, the maddening and often helpless slog of chronic relapse.
—Sarah Hepola, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2023
Artists who paint themselves making art more often capture the dynamism of form giving, not the maddening but necessary struggle with time that precedes the making and finishing of an image.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maddening.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1743, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near maddening
Cite this Entry
“Maddening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maddening. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
maddening
adjective
mad·den·ing
ˈmad-niŋ,
-ᵊn-iŋ
: that irritates or angers
a maddening habit
maddeningly
adverb
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