madder
/ˈmæd.ɚ/noun, adjective, verb
madder is spelled M-A-D-D-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “madder vs matter” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As a noun, madder means “A herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of madder is madders.
How many letters and syllables are in madder?
| Letters | 6: M-A-D-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is madder?
Madder appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce madder?
- UK /ˈmæd.ə(ɹ)/
- UK [ˈmad.ə(ɹ)]
- US /ˈmæd.ɚ/
Madder has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-madder.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with madder
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with madder?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as madder from its last stressed vowel (/ædəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of madder
- madders plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- maddering participle, present
- maddered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does madder mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root.
- 2
The root of the plant, used as a medicine or a dye.
- 3
A dye made from the plant.
- 4
A deep reddish colour, like that of the dye.
adjective
- 1
Of a deep reddish purple colour, like that of the dye.
- 2
comparative form of mad: more mad
verb
- 1
rareTo dye with madder.
- 2
Eye dialect spelling of matter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Madder in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | garance |
| German | Färberkrapp, Färberröte, Krapp , Krappwurzel , Krapprot, Krappfarbstoff |
| Portuguese | ruiva-dos-tintureiros, ruiva, granza, garança , alizarina |
| Spanish | rubia roja , rojo de alizarina , rojo turco |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does madder come from?
From Middle English mader, madere, mædere, from Old English mædere, mæddre, mædre, from Proto-Germanic *madarǭ (compare Swedish måra, Old Norse / Icelandic maðra), from Proto-Indo-European *modʰro-, cognate with Proto-Slavic *modrъ (“blue”), and compare Irish madar (“madder”), Latvian madara (“madder”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).