vex

[ veks ]

/ vɛks /

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verb (used with object)

to irritate; annoy; provoke: His noisy neighbors often vexed him.

to torment; trouble; distress; plague; worry: Lack of money vexes many.

to discuss or debate (a subject, question, etc.) with vigor or at great length: to vex a question endlessly without agreeing.

to disturb by motion; stir up; toss about.

to afflict with physical pain.

Nearby words

Origin of vex

1375–1425; late Middle English vexen < Old French vexer < Latin vexāre to shake, jolt, harass, annoy, frequentative of vehere to carry, convey

SYNONYMS FOR vex

1. anger, irk, fret, nettle. 2. hector, harry, harass.

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ANTONYMS FOR vex

1. delight.

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Related formsvex·er, nounvex·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vexing

If Paul Ryan visits communities to try to solve some of the most vexing problems facing our nation, will the media cover it?
Paul Ryan Opens a Door to the Congressional Black Congress|Ron Christie|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The results are vexing, and increasingly dangerous as Moscow builds threats on the foundation of its own propaganda.
On the Front Lines in Ukraine’s Info War|Jamie Dettmer|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For liberals, the question of how to square this circle is a vexing one.
How Did Rand Paul Become a Liberal Hero?|David Freedlander|September 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
While the U.S. has struggled to address all of these elements, the most vexing has proven to be the political process.
The U.S.’s ‘Yadda, Yadda, Yadda’ Doctrine for Syria|Jeremy Shapiro|September 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Curiously for such a liberal politician, gun control has always proven a vexing political issue for Barack Obama.
Hillary Was Right: Obama’s Inexperience Sank Gun Deal|Stuart Stevens|April 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And everything that could happen to Jeanne of a vexing or painful nature would be witnessed by him with pleasure.
Serge Panine, Complete|Georges Ohnet
Each of these events, however, added to American territory, and these additions gave prominence to a new and vexing problem.
The Path of Empire|Carl Russell Fish
If ghosts be ever laid, here lie ghosts of creatures innumerable, vexing the mind in the attempt to conceive them.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide|Augusta Foote Arnold
There was the less need for careful management; the less risk of vexing the public by injudicious approbation.
A Book of the Play|Dutton Cook
There is no doubt that the mind has very much to do with this vexing complication of pregnancy.
The Mother and Her Child|William S. Sadler

British Dictionary definitions for vexing

vex

/ (vɛks) /

verb (tr)

to anger or annoy

to confuse; worry

archaic to agitate

Derived Formsvexer, nounvexing, adjectivevexingly, adverb

Word Origin for vex

C15: from Old French vexer, from Latin vexāre to jolt (in carrying), from vehere to convey

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vexing

vex

early 15c., from Middle French vexer, from Latin vexare "to attack, harass, trouble," from vexus, collateral form of vectus, past participle of vehere "to draw, carry" (see vehicle). Related: Vexed; vexing.

vex