as in frustrating
causing annoyance
after a few days, she found the monotonous work to be absolutely maddening
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in disturbing
to cause to go insane or as if insane
the endless swarms of mosquitoes all but maddened the explorers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in infuriating
to make angry
her perpetual tardiness maddened her friends to no end
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of maddening
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
31 May 2026
The maddening answer is that no one really knows.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
29 May 2026
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
What makes this case maddening is that every system seemed to work halfway.
—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for maddening
Adjective
That’s why some of their aimless enthusiasm around generative AI can feel so paradoxical and maddening.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
31 May 2026
The maddening answer is that no one really knows.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
29 May 2026
Verb
The rest of the production had been much harder—particularly because, to his frustration, he’d been forced to film primarily in Atlanta rather than in Oakland, after a year of maddening delays led to the production losing its California tax rebate.
—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
What makes this case maddening is that every system seemed to work halfway.
—
Christopher Elliott,
Mercury News,
8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for maddening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maddening
Adjective
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If this World Cup has been trying for Iran, it’s been frustrating for Belgium, which hasn’t scored a goal of its own.
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The Netherlands are coming off a frustrating 2-2 draw against Japan and desperately need a win to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Verb
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The ability to create disturbing horror in comics is not easy.
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He was charged with stalking, disturbing the peace and obstruction for failure to identify himself to law enforcement.
Verb
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The Iranians moved their training base from Arizona to Mexico, and the team has been required to leave Los Angeles right after both matches, infuriating Ghalenoei.
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If only the look from the outside-in had measured up the same way instead of descending into a fiasco as thousands faced infuriating delays getting to the stadium.
Adjective
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Scam texts are annoying for everyone.
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Others have blamed everything from feminism and long work commutes to annoying kiddy car seats.
Verb
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Why People Misunderstand This Intelligence The first mistake people make is confusing integrative intelligence with being broadly knowledgeable.
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Having said that, conversations might be confusing today.
Verb
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Younger, more far left candidates across the nation, from California to Indiana, are running this year to try and oust older, longtime congressional incumbents — angering Democratic Party leaders.
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But Schnur said the governor likely also has concerns about angering one of his biggest backers.
Adjective
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Greenberg tried his best to ignore an irritating ankle injury that had plagued him the last couple of weeks and grimaced under the hazy sunlight as the pitcher, probably 20 or more years his junior, stared him down.
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The hypoallergenic face serum is free from potentially irritating ingredients, such as parabens and synthetic fragrances, too.
Verb
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However, there was a distracting graphical issue where characters and objects would get weird glowy or black artifacts around the edges in close-up shots during battles and cutscenes.
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People attending the trial would also be prohibited from reacting, gesturing, wearing distracting clothing, or otherwise disrupting proceedings.
Cite this Entry
“Maddening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maddening. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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