vexatious
Americanadjective
-
causing vexation; troublesome; annoying.
a vexatious situation.
- Synonyms:
- irksome, bothersome, irritating, provoking
- Antonyms:
- delightful
-
Law. (of legal actions) instituted without sufficient grounds and serving only to cause annoyance to the defendant.
-
full of unease or turmoil; troubled.
adjective
-
vexing or tending to vex
-
vexed
-
law (of a legal action or proceeding) instituted without sufficient grounds, esp so as to cause annoyance or embarrassment to the defendant
vexatious litigation
Other Word Forms
- nonvexatious adjective
- nonvexatiously adverb
- nonvexatiousness noun
- unvexatious adjective
- unvexatiously adverb
- unvexatiousness noun
- vexatiously adverb
- vexatiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of vexatious
First recorded in 1525–35; vexati(on) + -ous
Explanation
Vexatious describes something that drives you crazy. The kid you're babysitting refusing to go to bed might be vexatious, for example. Something vexatious, pronounced "veks-AY-shus," is irritating or annoying, like an itch in the middle of your back that you can't reach, or a task that you need to do for work. You can also describe something that's worrying you as vexatious, like a parent's vexatious thoughts the first time a child drives the car alone. Vexatious is also a legal term. It describes a lawsuit meant to annoy, with no hope of winning the suit.
Vocabulary lists containing vexatious
"Democracy in America, Vol. 1" by Alexis de Tocqueville, Introduction–Chapter 5
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"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte, Chapters 1–5
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Murder on the Orient Express
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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.
A Cabinet Office source said: "The fact that selective excerpts are now being resurfaced, almost a decade on, to substantiate vexatious anonymous briefings from disgruntled individuals is frankly unconscionable."
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
Hit-Boy’s first musical body of work to arrive on the heels of this extended vexatious period is his forthcoming album, naturally titled “Software Update.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2025
"We require that you immediately stop manufacturing false and vexatious allegations against Ms Siddiq and further media briefings and public comments designed to harm her reputation."
From BBC • Mar. 19, 2025
What if the judiciary treated the federal government itself as a vexatious litigant?
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2025
“Some tiles and antique pottery that he bought in Persia. What was delivered was not what he had purchased. There has been a long, vexatious correspondence on the subject.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
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.
