vex
Americanverb (used with object)
-
vexes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
vexed,
past participle, past
-
vexing
present participle
-
His noisy neighbors often vexed him.
- Antonyms:
- delight
-
to torment; trouble; distress; plague; worry.
Lack of money vexes many.
Her arthritis vexed her all night.
-
to confuse or bewilder; confound.
The formula vexes most of our students at first.
-
to discuss or debate (a subject, question, etc.) with vigor or at great length.
They vexed the question endlessly without agreeing.
-
to disturb by motion; stir up; toss about.
verb
-
to anger or annoy
-
to confuse; worry
-
archaic to agitate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
vexsimple
-
vexessimple
-
have vexedperfect
-
has vexedperfect
-
am vexingprogressive
-
are vexingprogressive
-
is vexingprogressive
-
have been vexingperfect progressive
-
has been vexingperfect progressive
Past
-
vexedsimple
-
had vexedperfect
-
was vexingprogressive
-
were vexingprogressive
-
had been vexingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vex
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English vexen, from Old French vexer, from Latin vexāre “to shake, jolt, harass, annoy,” frequentative of vehere “to carry, convey”
Explanation
If something vexes you, it brings you trouble or difficulty. In other words, it annoys, worries, distresses, irritates, bothers, or puzzles you. Vex can be used as an adjective: for example, a vexing issue is not easily solved. The verb vex, the corresponding adjective vexatious, and the noun vexation are all slightly old-fashioned though still in current use. Vex descends through Middle English from Latin vexare, "to shake, attack, trouble."
Vocabulary lists containing vex
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The tunnel traffic continues to vex U.S. officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The contrasting standards vex those worried for the future of public education.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
The brevity—and breakneck speed—of many of the new trade deals with the U.S. have left ambiguities that vex swift approvals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
These poor circumstances vex artists, despite optimism by curators and others who say more and more Ugandans are starting to appreciate art as an attractive investment option.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
“Ah, yes, I hear these naughty ones go to vex you, Mees Marsch. If so again, call at me and I come,” he said, with a threatening frown that delighted the little wretches.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
That question vexes former Royal Netherlands Air Force Apache attack helicopter pilot Roy Lindelauf, who is now a professor of data science in the department of intelligent systems of Tilburg University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
It is this uncertainty that vexes political pundits and campaign strategists alike.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2024
Regarding the Dec. 4 Metro article “Metro’s focus on evasion vexes kids”:
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022
He even puts up a poster decreeing “No eating people” in his apartment, which vexes Venom mightily.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2021
Though there has not been a review in some time that vexes him the way that this particular one does.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The wicked Navier-Stokes problem had vexed mathematicians for nearly a century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
A multiday music festival on the beach is a SoCal dream that has tantalized and vexed concert promoters for generations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
"There is no point in bemoaning what is going on" one says phlegmatically, "Andy Burnham's inherited this vexed issue that our jails are full, it's in the nature of being PM."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
But at the time, a teenage Adrian, hoping to break into the more commercial side of the film business, was vexed by his father’s reluctance to pursue Hollywood money-makers.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
That it would arrive he did not doubt; Cerse.i was not like to forget him, and even Jaime might be vexed to find a quarrel in Father’s belly.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
She also believed that Oklahoma’s justice system had thrown the book at Walters as a convenient way to clear a vexing case.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Probably the most vexing food crisis was at Chipotle because there were repeat incidents spanning more than one-and-a-half years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
I have some exciting editions planned, but I also want to hear from you: What money matters are vexing you?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
That’s what’s made this series so vexing for the shorthanded Lakers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
I have spent a vexing half hour scrapping with Fräulein Engel over the pen nib, which I swear I did not bend on purpose the first time.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
