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
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Recent Examples of madden
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
Our winter season continues with Adina Hoffman (recipient of a 2013 Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction) chatting with Michael Kelleher about Georges Perec’s magical and mercurial and maddening An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris, translated by Marc Lowenthal.
—Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for madden
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
Our winter season continues with Adina Hoffman (recipient of a 2013 Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction) chatting with Michael Kelleher about Georges Perec’s magical and mercurial and maddening An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris, translated by Marc Lowenthal.
—Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for madden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for madden
Verb
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After a frustrating conversation with a hotel staffer about the air conditioning, a hot and bothered Fuller threw on a ball cap, turned it backward and recorded a rant on his cellphone.—
Tia Mitchell,
AJC.com,
1 May 2026
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Nine months after Varland was traded, Twins fans are still bothered the hometown kid isn’t clicking for them instead, especially given recent results from Minnesota’s bullpen.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Her three opponents have accused her of mismanaging the office, presiding over growing legal payouts and making a series of missteps that infuriated members of the City Council.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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The court struck down that portion of the legislation, a move that infuriated Cindy's family.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Starmer’s comments risk angering many within his party, who will take issue with his linking of antisemitism with pro-Palestinian activism.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
2 May 2026
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Those plans angered victims' families, and some prominent state officials called for regulators to deny or delay renewal of the camp's license, which had been under review by the Texas Department of State Health Services.—
Briauna Brown,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Remaining quiet and respectful increases the chances of observing bears in their natural habitat without disturbing them.—
Debbie Olsen,
Travel + Leisure,
2 May 2026
-
Coherence unravels strange events and disturbing moments that are sure to thrill.—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Griffin and opponents of Mamdani were enraged.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
7 May 2026
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Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall walked off the pitch enraged after being shown a red card 10 minutes before his team suffered a 1-0 loss to Bay FC.—
Fernando Ramirez,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 May 2026
Verb
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But when an audition for the sixth film came through, he was initially confused by the prospect of rejoining a franchise in which his character had already died.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
2 May 2026
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The Pace exhibition also included photographs of unidentified objects orbiting Earth and kite-like sculptures resembling military satellites designed to confuse enemy radars.—
Louis Bury,
ARTnews.com,
1 May 2026
Verb
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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
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As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the president doesn’t get annoyed with him once or twice.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
26 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 8 May. 2026.
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