madden

v. to make someone very angry or annoyed.

v. to drive someone to a state of extreme irritation or fury. Transitive — requires a direct object.

“The constant sound of the dripping tap started to madden him after an hour.”

“The bureaucratic delays were enough to madden even the most patient applicants, leading to a series of formal complaints.”

v. to make someone lose their mind or become crazy.

v. to cause someone to become insane or to inflame them with uncontrollable passion. Often used in literary or dramatic contexts.

“In the story, the isolation of the island began to madden the sailors.”

“The protagonist was maddened by grief, eventually losing his grip on reality as the winter progressed.”

Literary

v. to become very angry or act in a wild way.

v. to become furious or act with insane rage. Intransitive — used without a direct object.

“The crowd began to madden as the gates remained closed.”

“The poem describes a storm that seems to madden across the moor, destroying everything in its path.”

Archaic · Literary