to drive (someone) crazy
220
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /draɪv ˈsʌmˌwʌn ˈkreɪzi/
- Informal
- 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
273
1.0
Make someone feel sad or worried
144
1.0
Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions
103
1.0
To make someone very upset or annoyed
87
3.6
Annoy someone again and again to make them react
60
4.9
To bother someone again and again until they feel angry
57
2.9
Make someone feel annoyed or impatient, often by repeated small actions
46
7.1
To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone
38
7.4
To annoy someone a lot by small things another person does
34
3.0
Make someone feel annoyed because they cannot do something
30
5.0
Make someone very angry
22
6.9
Make someone annoyed, often by small things
15
4.2
Annoy someone and make them angrier
13
4.7
To make someone feel annoyed or unhappy
10
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
8
8.4
To annoy someone or make them angry
3
9.9
To make someone very annoyed or angry
3
9.8
To make someone feel very annoyed or upset
2
5.9
Make someone very annoyed by doing the same thing again and again
2
7.9
To annoy someone or make them feel defensive
1
5.3
To make someone very angry or annoyed
1
9.1
To make someone 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'.