1
as in to bother
to cause to go insane or as if insane
the endless swarms of mosquitoes all but maddened the explorers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to infuriate
to make angry
her perpetual tardiness maddened her friends to no end
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of madden
The science of color is also maddening for the same reason.
—
Kory Stamper, Longreads, 19 Mar. 2026
Across Exuvie, Büchi induces a state of temporary autophony, a condition in which internal body sounds like breathing and blinking are amplified to maddening volume.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Rachel and Irvi found these reactions maddening.
—Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
But of all the strange and maddening messages posted around this city, there was one particular type of billboard that the people of San Francisco couldn’t bear.
—Sam Kriss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for madden
Kory Stamper, Longreads, 19 Mar. 2026
Across Exuvie, Büchi induces a state of temporary autophony, a condition in which internal body sounds like breathing and blinking are amplified to maddening volume.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Rachel and Irvi found these reactions maddening.
—Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
But of all the strange and maddening messages posted around this city, there was one particular type of billboard that the people of San Francisco couldn’t bear.
—Sam Kriss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for madden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for madden
Verb
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Now the dog is back to bothering her brother and showing off her sassy personality.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
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This is a nakedly partisan power grab, and state officials haven’t really bothered to deny it.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
What was the song that infuriated the coach?—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
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Still, even an unsuccessful appeal would let Democrats try to blame their failure on the conservative majority that dominates the nation's highest court, which has already infuriated the party and civil rights groups by neutering the Voting Rights Act.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Set in 1986, the story follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl, whose get-rich scheme to help clean up the Gowanus Canal ends in disaster after Irwin (Teller), a nebbish family man, angers Russian mobsters by unwittingly witnessing their criminal activity.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 May 2026
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The delay angered rural Republicans, who wanted to see the farm bill passed.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Instead of relying on a traditional metal antenna to capture a signal, the system uses lasers to monitor how incoming radio waves disturb the atoms.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
17 May 2026
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Disrupting the possibility of cheerful solitude is both a stylistic and social shift, disturbing the film’s non-narrative serenity while depicting how dismantling the safety net displaces basic functions onto those least able to bear them.—
Vadim Rizov,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Verb
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That change, which postponed the 2025 election to 2026, enraged some residents.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
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The judge rejected the Suffolk District Attorney’s recommendation of 12 years and cut it in half, enraging prosecutors.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Winners are chosen by a mix of votes from the two, translated into points by a system confusing even to Eurovision fans.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
-
Cassidy complained Friday that the new primary system enacted last year was confusing voters by requiring them to ask for a partisan ballot instead of the previous all-party primary that had been in place.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 May 2026
Verb
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To Henry, this would have been for the greater good of English football, but the reaction was again one of anger and Henry was annoyed that the idea was killed off.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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The non-meat use of the term came from the online chat room community, which by the late 1980s was already using it to denote a mass influx of data into their chat rooms that could trigger a computer crash and/or annoy chat room users.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Only sick, demented, or deranged people in the House or Senate could vote against THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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For all their faults, looksmaxxers are intent on de-fetishizing this particular commodity, revealing beauty to be the product of strenuous (and often deranging) labor.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Madden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/madden. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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