to drive (someone) crazy
271
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /draɪv ˈsʌmˌwʌn ˈkreɪzi/
- Informal
:
sacar de quicio
- The constant noise from the construction site is driving me crazy.
Examples
-
That smell of glue is beginning to drive me crazy.
-
All right, well, this waiting is driving me crazy.
-
Oh, yes, that would drive me crazy, too.
-
I am $20 short and it is driving me crazy.
-
Maybe it was all the construction that drove everybody crazy.
-
But if I'm being honest, I think I tried to drive him crazy because I wanted him to like me.
-
The itching is driving me crazy.
-
- You're driving me crazy.
-
Siggy, are you going to spend all summer driving us crazy with that?
Fiction book (1991) -
It's driving me crazy!
Synonyms
362
1.0
Make someone feel sad or worried
246
1.0
Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions
144
3.6
Annoy someone again and again to make them react
137
3.0
Make someone feel annoyed because they cannot do something
114
1.0
To make someone very upset or annoyed
78
2.9
Make someone feel annoyed or impatient, often by repeated small actions
63
6.9
Make someone annoyed, often by small things
46
5.0
Make someone very angry
43
4.2
Annoy someone and make them angrier
28
4.7
To make someone feel annoyed or unhappy
8
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
7
4.9
To bother someone again and again until they feel angry
7
5.9
Make someone very annoyed by doing the same thing again and again
6
5.3
To make someone very angry or annoyed
4
7.4
To annoy someone a lot by small things another person does
1
7.1
To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone
1
9.1
To make someone angry
1
9.9
To make someone very annoyed or angry
1
9.8
To make someone feel very annoyed or upset
1
7.9
To annoy someone or make them feel defensive
To annoy someone or make them angry
Antonyms
How Annoyed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly inferable from combining 'drive' (to cause or push) with 'crazy' (mentally upset/extremely), yielding 'cause someone to become crazy' in a figurative sense (i.e., make them very annoyed or upset). This causative verb + adjective pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g., Spanish 'volver loco', French 'rendre fou') and follows a regular compositional logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand it.
Etymology
Drive (someone) crazy paints a picture of being driven around in circles or pushed so much that you feel dizzy and lose control. That's why drive (to push or move) plus crazy (upset or wild) means 'to make someone very annoyed or upset'.