What does maddened mean?
“Maddened” means extremely angry or filled with rage, either because someone has been driven to that state or because they have become that way. It is often used in formal or literary contexts, as in “maddened by injustice” or “the crowd was maddened with fury.” The word suggests a powerful loss of emotional control and is generally stronger and more dramatic than simply “angry.” It can be used transitively, with an angering cause as the subject, or intransitively, describing the change in the person affected. Although “maddened” can sometimes imply confusion or obsessive excitement, its dominant modern sense concerns rage or fury. The related adjective “maddening” is often used for something intensely irritating rather than for a person’s emotional state.
verbTo make someone extremely angry or filled with rage. It can also mean to become extremely angry, especially as a result of a distressing experience.
- To cause someone to become extremely angry or filled with rage.
- To become extremely angry, especially under the influence of distressing circumstances.
"Years of neglect maddened the residents, who demanded an immediate investigation."
"The repeated delays maddened the organizers."
"She was maddened by the injustice of the decision."
A person can be maddened by anger, but a maddening problem is one that drives frustration to the limit.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does maddened come from?
“Maddened” is formed from the verb “madden” and the suffix “-ed,” indicating that the action or resulting state is complete. “Madden” developed from the older English word “mad,” which could mean insane or violently enraged and ultimately relates to Old English “gemǣdd,” meaning out of one's mind. The modern emotional sense follows the word’s older association with insanity and violent frenzy.
Related word forms
How maddened is actually used
The form is chiefly literary or rhetorical. It is more common as the past participle in phrases such as “maddened by” or “maddened with rage” than as a simple past-tense verb.
Easily confused with maddened
“Maddened” describes someone who has been made or has become extremely angry, whereas “maddening” describes something that causes intense irritation or drives a person mad.