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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of maddening
Afdhel Aziz, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
For players, the most maddening moment came early in the third when Guerin was called for high-sticking, giving New York a prime man-advantage opportunity to tie the score.
—Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 21 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 conflict sits at the heart of one of climate's most maddening paradoxes.
—Afdhel Aziz, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
For players, the most maddening moment came early in the third when Guerin was called for high-sticking, giving New York a prime man-advantage opportunity to tie the score.
—Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 21 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
-
Norwegian Epic is awkward, distinctive and sometimes frustrating.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
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The cancellation was frustrating enough, but this comes across as incredibly dismissive of the fans who support your career.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
Romantic from the first frame to the last, Park Chan-wook's 2022 masterpiece is a culmination of his steady and coherent approach to disturbing characters and his love for Hitchcock.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
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In addition, Field appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, was yelling, acting belligerently and was disturbing residents, including a mother with young children.—
CBS Miami Team,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Verb
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The money raised is not set to go into the state’s Medi-Cal funding but instead into the general fund, infuriating advocates who note Newsom’s budget maintains rollbacks to health insurance for undocumented immigrants, low-income elderly Californians and other vulnerable populations.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
11 June 2026
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Union Pacific hasn’t commented publicly on the president’s remarks, but risks infuriating the president by denying them privately to investors all the same.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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That particularly could be annoying to Uruguay supporters, given Messi’s stature in the sport overall and in particular with defending champion Argentina, La Celeste’s biggest rival.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
16 June 2026
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It’s widely considered rude and annoying when people cluster by the train doors if there are more people on the platform attempting to get on.—
Claudia Fisher,
Travel + Leisure,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Cancers can release this protein into the tumor microenvironment, where the molecule attaches to the T cells and change their ability to communicate with other cells, confusing the T cells and restricting their ability to survive and kill cancer.—
Charles J. Dimitroff,
The Conversation,
12 June 2026
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While the numbers, nutrients, and ingredient lists may seem confusing at first, learning how to read nutrition labels can tell you a lot about what’s actually in the food.—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The Star, which also looked into the killing, revealed that Jordan’s associations with organized crime figures, as well as his apparent disregard for angering them, likely contributed to his death.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
1 June 2026
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In the biblical Tower of Babel story, humans are driven by hubris to try to create a tower tall enough to touch the sky, angering God in the process.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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More importantly, chemical fumes can become stronger and more irritating when heated, posing risks if your garage is connected to the house.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 June 2026
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Again, this is very Yellowstone for Rip to have an excessively violent response to an irritating obstacle.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
Verb
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The formal obligation to bow or curtsy will force targets to bend a knee and break eye contact—a perfect opening for the President to place something distracting like a Twix bar on their heads.—
Dahlia Gallin Ramirez,
New Yorker,
9 June 2026
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Reid plays this so well, but the direction is a little over the top, with drug-trip visuals that are too distracting to follow the dense-as-ever disjointed narration.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Maddening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maddening. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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