madden

/ˈmædn/

/ˈmædɪn/

Other forms: maddened; maddening; maddens

Use the verb madden when something exasperates you or drives you up a wall. Terrible traffic when you're late for an appointment is sure to madden you.

If something makes you mad or gets on your nerves, it maddens you. If your dogs tend to madden you, it means that they drive you crazy. When you madden your dogs, you get them so riled up that they run around the house barking. The earliest use of the verb was literally "to make mad or insane," though by the early 1800's it meant "to drive to distraction."

Definitions of madden

1. verb

   make mad
   “His behavior is maddening”

   type of:

   anger

   make angry
2. verb

   cause to go crazy; cause to lose one's mind
   synonyms: craze

   types:

   derange, unbalance

   derange mentally, throw out of mental balance; make insane
3. verb

   drive up the wall; get on someone's nerves
   type of:

   bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment

   treat cruelly